Definition
Chance
Chance describes how possible or likely an event is before the outcome is known.
What it means
Chance tells where an event sits between impossible and certain. Words can give a rough comparison, while a probability number gives a more exact one. The setup matters: changing the rules can change the chance.
Remember it
Picture a scale running from impossible to certain.
Example
On a fair six-sided die, rolling a 6 has a 1 out of 6 chance. Rolling a number less than 6 has a 5 out of 6 chance, so it is more likely.
Watch for
“I had a chance to play” means an opportunity; it is not the probability meaning used here.
Common mix-up
A bigger chance means more likely, not guaranteed. Only probability 1 is certain.
Exact meaning
Chance is the possibility or likelihood that an event will occur in a stated chance process. It may be described with words such as impossible, unlikely, even chance, likely, and certain, or measured numerically by probability.