serendipity
ser-un-DIP-ih-teenounMeaning the luck of finding good things without looking for them
Memory hook a SERENE DIP finds a treasure. Taking a serene dip in the lake, Omar feels something under his toes: a lost gold ring. Finding something wonderful without looking for it is serendipity.
By pure serendipity, Sami found his favorite book at a yard sale for a dime.
In context Searching the attic for a flashlight, Grandma found her mother’s long-lost diary instead; she called it serendipity, since she had given up hope of ever seeing it again.
Similar luck, happy accident, good fortune, lucky find
Opposite misfortune, bad luck
Coined in 1754 from Serendip, an old name for Sri Lanka, after a Persian fairy tale, The Three Princes of Serendip, whose heroes kept finding things they were not looking for.