fluke
FLOOK · noun
An unlikely success or occurrence produced largely by chance.
Memory connection
Picture “flew key”
A dropped key seems to fly across the floor and lands perfectly inside a distant lock—an astonishing result caused by luck.
The sound cue helps you reach the scene; the action in the scene carries you from the scene to the definition.
Use it accurately
Meaning in context
The second victory showed that the first had not been a fluke.
Finding the missing receipt in that exact book was a remarkable fluke.
Calling an achievement a fluke suggests it resulted from luck and may not be repeated. The word can also name parts of an anchor or whale, but those are separate senses.
Common patterns
- just a fluke
- no fluke
- a lucky fluke
Quick check
Can you retrieve the meaning?
Why might someone call a victory a fluke?
Choose an answer, then explain it in your own words.