From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcoincidenceco‧in‧ci‧dence /kəʊˈɪnsɪdəns $ koʊ-/ ●●○ noun 1 [countable, uncountable]TIME/AT THE SAME TIME when two things happen at the same time, in the same place, or to the same people in a way that seems surprising or unusual → coincide, coincidental ‘I’m going to Appleby tomorrow.’ ‘What a coincidence! I’m going there too.’by coincidence By coincidence, John and I both ended up at Yale.sheer/pure coincidence (=completely by chance) It was sheer coincidence that we were staying in the same hotel.not a coincidence/more than coincidence (=not chance, but deliberate) I think it is more than coincidence that all the complaints have come from the same group of people.2 [singular] formalSAME when two ideas, opinions etc are the samecoincidence of a coincidence of interest between the mining companies and certain politiciansCOLLOCATIONSadjectivessheer/pure coincidence (=complete chance)It was pure coincidence that we were on the same plane.mere coincidence (=only chance and nothing else)Is it mere coincidence that they always seem to employ men?a happy/lucky/fortunate coincidenceIt was just a happy coincidence that he was there too.an unfortunate coincidenceBy a very unfortunate coincidence, she didn’t get either of his emails.a strange/curious coincidenceWhat a strange coincidence that you were both living in Bangkok at the same time.a remarkable/amazing/extraordinary coincidenceWhat an extraordinary coincidence meeting you here!phrasesit is a coincidence thatIt was a remarkable coincidence that two people with the same name were staying at the hotel.it is not a/no coincidence that (=it is deliberate)It is no coincidence that the Government made the announcement today. be more than (a) coincidence (=there is some other explanation)When I saw him a third time, I realized it was more than just coincidence.a string/series/set of coincidencesThe accident happened because of a string of unfortunate coincidences.
Examples from the Corpus
coincidence• It was just a coincidence that we were in Paris at the same time.• What was the probability - the unvarnished statistical likelihood - of such a coincidence?• It was a coincidence that three earthquakes happened across the world in one week.• Hi Phil. What a coincidence -- we were just talking about you.• My mother is called Anna, and by coincidence my wife's mother is called Anna too.• We were all linked in a vast and rhythmic coincidence, a daisy chain of rumor, suspicion and secret wish.• By a strange coincidence the king was assassinated on the very spot where his grandfather had been killed.• After all, the coincidence could not be expected to occur so neatly every 150 million years.• It is regarded as a purely natural phenomenon which, by an unusual coincidence, occurs in the walls of their convent.What a coincidence• "Ruby's dad gave her the exact same thing that she gave us for our wedding." "You're kidding! What a coincidence."coincidence of• There is a coincidence of opinion among the board members. 