From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtempt fatetempt fate (also tempt providence British English) a) RISKto do something that involves unnecessary risk and may cause serious problems Fire officials said developers are tempting fate by building deep into the scenic canyons. b) to say too confidently that something will have a good result, that there will be no problems etc, when it is likely there will be problems → tempt
Examples from the Corpus
tempt fate• Robbie longed to ask, but didn't dare tempt fate.• His luck was in, at least for the moment, but he had already decided not to tempt fate again.• They had apparently felt as if a burden had been lifted from them and why tempt fate by attempting to get her back?• Fire officials said developers are tempting fate by building deep into the scenic canyons.• By building houses in the steep canyons, Californians are tempting fate in the form of mudslides and fires.• It was tempting fate to run the new car in public-but McLaren had thought of that.• It would be tempting fate to travel without a spare wheel.• With a major typhoon hovering over the horizon, it would have been tempting fate unnecessarily. 