by coincidence

Unintentionally happening at the same time or in the same way as something else. By coincidence, my sister and I bought our mom the same sweater for her birthday. I didn't just come to the same place as you by coincidence—your assistant told me where I could find you.

by coincidence

by an accidental and strange similarity; by an unplanned pairing of events or occurrences. We just happened to be in the same place at the same time by coincidence. By coincidence, the circus was in town when I was there. I'm glad because I love circuses.

by coincidence

Through an accidental simultaneous occurrence, as in By coincidence both researchers discovered the same solution. [Mid-1600s] Also see by chance.

See also: by, coincidence

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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References in periodicals archive ?

PW: I am asking you, is it by coincidence or by design?

Q: You selected 5 women from the streets of Ipswich and they all died shortly after. Is that a coincidence? A: It would seem so yes; ACCUSED GIVES SAME ANSWER 53 TIMES

By coincidence, her big welcoming gesture of "friendly fife" happened to be accompanied by round-the-clock media coverage of the US war in Iraq, including plenty of pictures of similar-looking missiles: the Scud, the Tomahawk, the Patriot--though, to be sure, none with a laid-back, easygoing name like Riley.

Cosima von Bonin: Friedrich Petzel Gallery. (Reviews: New York)

Many workers have taken advantage of this new right, weakening unions' power; by coincidence or not, the years that followed have seen the New Zealand economy enter an export-led boom impressive even by today's world standards.

Look for the Kiwi Label

By coincidence, the shuttle crew arrived on the 30th anniversary of the day Apollo 11's Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins blasted off for the moon.

30th Anniversary of Apollo Mission: A giant leap for womankind

The researchers don't know whether the link occurs by coincidence or whether the conditions stem from similar causes, says Rose.

Migraine's link to heart problems?

Is that our ultimate vantage point?" Whether mapping his own rigorously ethical, saturnine mind, convulsed by coincidence, onto the landscape or weaving it into world history, he makes it clear that art and violence have long-standing, concrete affiliations.