accident

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. An unexpected and undesirable event, especially one resulting in damage or harm: car accidents on icy roads.
2. n. An unforeseen incident: A series of happy accidents led to his promotion.
3. n. An instance of involuntary urination or defecation in one's clothing.
4. n. Lack of intention; chance: ran into an old friend by accident.
5. n. Logic A circumstance or attribute that is not essential to the nature of something.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. In general, anything that happens or begins to be without design, or as an unforeseen effect; that which falls out by chance; a fortuitous event or circumstance.
2. n. Specifically, an undesirable or unfortunate happening; an undesigned harm or injury; a casualty or mishap. In legal use, an accident is: An event happening without the concurrence of the will of the person by whose agency it was caused. It differs from mistake, in that the latter always supposes the operation of the will of the agent in producing the event, although that will is caused by erroneous impressions on the mind. Edw. Livingston. See mistake. Sometimes, in a loose sense, any event that takes place without one's foresight or expectation. Specifically, in equity practice, an event which is not the result of personal negligence or misconduct.
3. n. The operation of chance; an undesigned contingency; a happening without intentional causation; chance; fortune: as, it was the result of accident; I was there by accident.
4. n. That which exists or occurs abnormally; something unusual or phenomenal; an uncommon occurrence or appearance.
5. n. Irregularity; unevenness; abruptness. Any chance, unexpected, or unusual quality or circumstance.
6. n. An irregularity of surface; an undulation: as, the enemy was favored by the accidents of the ground.
7. n. A non-essential. In logic (translation of Gr. συμβεβηκός): Any predicate, mark, character, or whatever is in a subject or inheres in a substance: in this sense opposed to substance.
8. n. In grammar, a variation or inflection of a word, not essential to its primary signification, but marking a modification of its relation, as gender, number, and case. See accidence.
9. n. Synonyms Chance, mischance, hap, mishap, fortune, misfortune, luck, bad luck, casualty, calamity, disaster.
10. n. Property, Attribute, etc. See quality.

Wiktionary

1. n. An unexpected event with negative consequences occurring without the intention of the one suffering the consequences.
2. n. Any chance event.
3. n. uncountable Chance.
4. n. transport, vehicles An unintended event such as a collision that causes damage or death.
5. n. Any property, fact, or relation that is the result of chance or is nonessential.
6. n. euphemistic An instance of incontinence.
7. n. euphemistic An unintended pregnancy.
8. n. philosophy, logic A quality or attribute in distinction from the substance, as sweetness, softness.
9. n. grammar A property attached to a word, but not essential to it, as gender, number, case.
10. n. geology An irregular surface feature with no apparent cause.
11. n. heraldry A point or mark which may be retained or omitted in a coat of arms.
12. n. law casus; such unforeseen, extraordinary, extraneous interference as is out of the range of ordinary calculation.
13. n. military An unplanned event that results in injury (including death) or occupational illness to person(s) and/or damage to property, exclusive of injury and/or damage caused by action of an enemy or hostile force.
14. n. uncountable, philosophy, uncommon Appearance, manifestation.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. Literally, a befalling; an event that takes place without one's foresight or expectation; an undesigned, sudden, and unexpected event; chance; contingency; often, an undesigned and unforeseen occurrence of an afflictive or unfortunate character; a casualty; a mishap.
2. n. (Gram.) A property attached to a word, but not essential to it, as gender, number, case.
3. n. (Her.) A point or mark which may be retained or omitted in a coat of arms.
4. n. A property or quality of a thing which is not essential to it, as whiteness in paper; an attribute.
5. n. A quality or attribute in distinction from the substance, as sweetness, softness.
6. n. Any accidental property, fact, or relation; an accidental or nonessential.
7. n. obsolete Unusual appearance or effect.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. an unfortunate mishap; especially one causing damage or injury
2. n. anything that happens suddenly or by chance without an apparent cause