noun, verb
noun [U]
1 good things that happen to you by chance, not because of your own efforts or abilities:
With (any) luck, we'll be home before dark. * (BrE) With a bit of luck, we'll finish on time. * So far I have had no luck with finding a job. * I could hardly believe my luck when he said yes. * It was a stroke of luck that we found you. * By sheer luck nobody was hurt in the explosion. * We wish her luck in her new career. * You're in luck (= lucky)-there's one ticket left. * You're out of luck. She's not here. * What a piece of luck! * The only goal of the match came more by luck than judgement. * Finally my luck ran out and they caught me trying to climb the outer wall. * She dared not trust to luck that nobody would see her.
2 chance; the force that causes good or bad things to happen to people:
to have good / bad luck * I put the loss of the money down to pure bad luck.
seealsoHARD-LUCKSTORY
IDIOMS
Any luck? (spoken) used to ask sb if they have been successful with sth:
'Any luck?' 'No, they're all too busy to help.'
as luck would have it in the way that chance decides what will happen:
As luck would have it, the train was late.
bad, hard, etc. luck (on sb) used to express sympathy for sb:
Bad luck, Helen, you played very well. * It's hard luck on him that he wasn't chosen. * What rotten luck it had to happen now!
be down on your luck (informal) to have no money because of a period of bad luck
the best of luck (with sth)
