English Reference
noun

coincidence

n.
US /koʊˈɪnsɪdəns/ UK /kəʊˈɪnsɪdəns/ co·in·ci·dence UK spelling coincidence's, coincidence's

  1. 01 C2 Proficiency Technical Math

    a point where two different things, like lines or shapes, meet or match perfectly.

    a point at which two or more functions, mappings, or geometric figures have the same value or position.

    Simple

    The professor explained how to find the coincidence point of the two lines on the graph.

    In context

    In fixed-point theory, a coincidence point for two mappings is a point in their domain that maps to the same element in the codomain.

That's because the moon is 400 times smaller than the sun, which is 400 times farther away, making them appear the same size—a cosmic coincidence and gift from the universe.

Phys.org· 22 Aug 2026

From Earth, a total solar eclipse occurs because the moon and the sun appear almost exactly the same size in our skies—a cosmic coincidence.

Smithsonian Magazine· 10 Aug 2026

From Middle French coincidence (French coïncidence). By surface analysis, coincide + -ence.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin frm coincidence
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated