Fluke Meaning
/fluːk/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA lucky or improbable occurrence that could probably never be repeated.
verbTo obtain a successful outcome by pure chance.
Sentence Examples
He got the job by a fluke.
I thought it was a fluke.
CEFR Practice Quiz
His winning the lottery was a complete ____; he rarely buys tickets.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Winning the lottery was a complete ____, as he had only bought one single ticket.
Word Origin & History
Unknown, perhaps dialectal. It seems to have originally referred to a lucky shot at billiards. Possibly connected to sense 3, referring to whales' use of flukes to move rapidly. Possibly derived from German Glück (“luck, good fortune, happiness”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"“[…] That's the first time in the history of Bierce's Cove that two men made that jump on the same sea. And all the risk was yours, coming last.”
“It was a fluke,” Billy insisted."
— 1913 October, Jack London, chapter VIII, in The Valley of the Moon, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC:
"Three of the best hitters in the Eastern retired on nine strikes! That was no fluke."
— 1920, Zane Grey, “The Rube”, in The Redheaded Outfield:
""And I say," said Wimsey, "that it would be better for her to be hanged outright than to live and have everybody think her a murderess who got off by a fluke.""
— 1930, Dorothy L. Sayers, Strong Poison:
"It's Christmas at ground zero / Now the missiles are on their way / What a crazy fluke / We're gonna get nuked / On this jolly holiday"
— 1986, "Weird Al" Yankovic, “Christmas at Ground Zero”, in Polka Party!:
"And before I forget... that was one amazing kiss, mister. Could have been a fluke, though. Guess we have to keep trying."
— 2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Garden:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
His winning the lottery was a complete ____; he rarely buys tickets.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Winning the lottery was a complete ____, as he had only bought one single ticket.