ac‧ci‧dent S2 W2 / æksəd ə nt, æksɪd ə nt / 名词

1 by accident in a way that is not planned or intended 反义词 on purpose , deliberately :

I met her quite by accident (= completely by accident ) .

The discovery was made almost by accident.

The pilot, whether by accident or design (= whether it was planned or not planned ) , made the plane do a sharp turn.

2 [可数名词] an event in which a car, train, plane etc is damaged and often someone is hurt :

Over 70,000 people are seriously injured every year in road accidents.

The accident happened at the junction of Forest Road and Pine Walk.

a train accident

3

[可数名词] a situation in which someone is injured or something is damaged without anyone intending them to be :

Ken had an accident at work and had to go to hospital.

I’m sorry about breaking the vase – it was an accident (= I did not intend to do it ) .

a climbing/skiing/hunting etc accident

He died in a climbing accident in the Himalayas.

She was injured in a freak accident (= an unusual accident ) when a wall suddenly collapsed.

I had a slight accident with your coffee.

They lost their lives in a tragic accident .

4 [可数和不可数名词] something that happens without anyone planning or intending it :

My third baby was an accident.

It is no accident that men fill most of the top jobs in nursing, while women remain on the lower grades.

an accident of birth/geography/history etc (= an event or situation caused by chance )

5 accidents (will) happen spoken used to tell someone who has broken something that they should not worry that it has happened

6 an accident waiting to happen used about a situation in which an accident is likely to happen because no one is trying to prevent it :

The boats are being left to drift; it’s an accident waiting to happen.

COLLOCATIONS

形容词

a bad/serious accident There’s been a bad accident on the freeway. | The road is closed following a serious accident.

a major accident News is coming in of a major rail accident.

a horrible/nasty/horrific accident We narrowly avoided a nasty accident. | ‘This was an absolutely horrific accident,’ said an ambulance spokesman.

a fatal accident (= in which someone is killed ) a fatal accident involving a bus and a cyclist

a minor accident (= one that is not serious ) The ice and poor visibility caused minor accidents all over the country.

a road/traffic accident The number of traffic accidents has gone down. | Portugal has one of Western Europe’s worst road accident rates.

a car accident ( also an automobile accident American English formal ) He was badly injured in a car accident.

a plane accident/an airplane accident ( also a flying accident ) Holly died in a plane accident.

a rail accident/a train accident It was the country’s worst ever rail accident.

a hit-and-run accident (= when someone is hit by a driver who does not stop ) A woman is fighting for her life after a hit-and-run accident.

动词

have an accident I had an accident on my way to work.

be involved in an accident formal Your son has been involved in a car accident.

prevent an accident Steps have been taken to prevent a similar accident happening again.

an accident happens ( also an accident occurs formal ) No one saw the accident happen. | Most road accidents occur in urban areas.

accident + NOUN

an accident victim One of the accident victims is still trapped in his vehicle.

accident rates/statistics There is a relation between accident rates and the numbers of drivers on the road. | a survey of the latest airline accident statistics

an accident investigation/inquiry The two deaths are the subject of an accident inquiry. | Accident investigations often take months.

an accident investigator Accident investigators have been there all morning.

短语

the scene of an accident (= the place where it happened ) Police were at the scene of the accident within minutes.

COMMON ERRORS

► Do not say ’ a small accident ‘. Say a minor accident .

THESAURUS

accident an event in which a vehicle is damaged and often someone is hurt : Her father died in a car accident. | Hugh had an accident on his way to work.

crash a serious accident in which a vehicle hits something else : Rees-Jones was the only person to survive the crash. | a car/plane/train crash | He was killed in a plane crash.

collision an accident in which two or more cars, trains etc hit each other : His car was involved in a collision with a train. | a head-on collision (= between vehicles that are driving towards each other ) : The actor was killed in a head-on collision while driving his new sports car.

disaster a serious accident involving a train, plane, or boat, in which a lot of people are killed or injured : It was Britain’s worst air disaster.

wreck American English an accident in which a car or train is badly damaged : Ben nearly died in a car wreck.

pile-up an accident that involves several cars or trucks : The pile-up happened in thick fog. | There was a 12-car pile-up on the motorway.

fender-bender American English informal , prang British English informal a car accident in which little damage is done : Atkinson was involved in a fender-bender in the hotel parking lot. | At 15, he borrowed his parents’ car and had a prang.