the force that seems to operate for good or ill in a person's life, as in shaping circumstances, events, or opportunities.
With my luck I'll probably get pneumonia.
good fortune; advantage or success, considered as the result of chance.
He had no luck finding work.
a combination of circumstances, events, etc., operating by chance to bring good or ill to a person.
She's had nothing but bad luck all year.
some object on which good fortune is supposed to depend.
This rabbit's foot is my luck.
luck out to have an instance or run of exceptionally good luck.
He lucked out when he made a hole in one during the tournament.
luck into / onto to meet, acquire, become, etc., by good luck.
She lucked into a great job.
luck upon to come across by chance.
to luck upon a profitable investment.
in luck, lucky; fortunate.
We were in luck, for the bakery was still open.
out of luck, unlucky; unfortunate.
When it comes to getting World Series tickets, we're usually out of luck.
luck of the draw, the luck one has in or as if in drawing cards.
push one's luck, to try to make too much of an opportunity; go too far. Also crowd one's luck.
down on one's luck, in unfortunate circumstances; unlucky.
She hated to see her old friend so down on her luck.
events that are beyond control and seem subject to chance; fortune
success or good fortune
something considered to bring good luck
having little or no good luck to the point of suffering hardships
informal unfortunately not
to attempt something that is uncertain
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English luk, from Middle Dutch luc, shortened from gelucke; cognate with German Glück
Luck is chance or happenstance. If something happens from pure good luck, it seemingly came out of nowhere, based only on fate and not on anything you did to make it happen. If you find a fifty dollar bill on the sidewalk, you might exclaim, "What luck!" Alternately, if you lose all night at the poker table, you'll probably blame it on bad luck. In both examples, you're referring to a mysterious, unpredictable circumstance that affects your life by chance. Luck has a Middle Dutch root, luc, which is a shortened form of gheluc, "happiness or good fortune."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If you have the bad luck of experiencing a market downturn at the outset, your slope of growth will forever be lower.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 30, 2026
Fast-forward to the 17th century, pretzels became commonplace in Germany, where necklaces adorned with the baked goods were worn by children on New Year’s Day to usher in good luck.
From Salon • Apr. 28, 2026
And how many of these things you have to go through in this country before your luck runs out.
From BBC • Apr. 26, 2026
With every new amenity, it’s sending rivals a message: good luck catching up.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 25, 2026
"Just my luck," he groaned, throwing himself on his bed.
From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.