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Synonyms

fluke

1 American  
[flook] / fluk /

noun

  1. the part of an anchor that catches in the ground, especially the flat triangular piece at the end of each arm.

  2. a barb, or the barbed head, of a harpoon, spear, arrow, or the like.

  3. either half of the triangular tail of a whale.

fluke 2 American  
[flook] / fluk /

noun

  1. an accidental advantage; stroke of good luck.

    He got the job by a fluke.

  2. an accident or chance happening.

  3. an accidentally successful stroke, as in billiards.

fluke 3 American  
[flook] / fluk /

noun

  1. any of several American flounders of the genus Paralichthys, especially P. dentatus, found in the Atlantic Ocean.

  2. any of various other flatfishes.

  3. a trematode.

fluke 1 British  
/ fluːk /

noun

  1. any parasitic flatworm, such as the blood fluke and liver fluke, of the classes Monogenea and Digenea (formerly united in a single class Trematoda )

  2. another name for flounder 2

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
fluke 2 British  
/ fluːk /

noun

  1. an accidental stroke of luck

  2. any chance happening

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (tr) to gain, make, or hit by a fluke

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
fluke 3 British  
/ fluːk /

noun

  1. Also called: flue.  a flat bladelike projection at the end of the arm of an anchor

  2. either of the two lobes of the tail of a whale or related animal

  3. Also called: flue.  the barb or barbed head of a harpoon, arrow, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
fluke Scientific  
/ flo̅o̅k /

  1. Either of the two flattened fins of a whale's tail.

  2. See trematode

Other Word Forms

  • flukeless adjective

Etymology

Origin of fluke1

First recorded in 1555–65; perhaps special use of fluke 3

Origin of fluke2

First recorded in 1855–60; of obscure origin; compare English dialect fluke “a guess”

Origin of fluke3

First recorded before 900; Middle English flok, fluke, flewke, Old English flōc; cognate with Old Norse flōki; compare Old High German flah “flat” ( German flach )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But here they proved victory over Hull KR was no fluke and it could prove a season of surprises for the Knights, while the Airlie Birds contemplated a second successive defeat.

From BBC

It was a fluke that she was born in Ukraine.

From Los Angeles Times

This isn’t a fluke—the problem Congress had in mind when it crafted Section 122 in the early 1970s vanished shortly thereafter.

From The Wall Street Journal

What if it had all been a fluke?

From Literature

Proving it was no fluke, it was the second time in three months that big-serving Rybakina has beaten the world number one.

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.