Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Having or attended by good luck. synonym: fortunate.
  • adjective Believed to bring good luck.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • More than enough; too: as, lucky severe; lucky long.
  • noun An elderly woman; a grandam; goody: prefixed to a person's name: as, Lucky M‘Laren.
  • Favored by luck; fortunate; meeting with good success: as, a lucky adventurer.
  • Producing good by chance or unexpectedly: favorable; auspicious: as, a lucky adventure; a lucky time; a lucky cast.
  • Bulky; full; superabundant: as, lucky measure.
  • Handy.
  • Synonyms and Fortunate, etc. See happy.
  • noun See the phrase.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Favored by luck; fortunate; meeting with good success or good fortune; -- said of persons.
  • adjective Producing, or resulting in, good by chance, or unexpectedly; favorable; auspicious; fortunate

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Favoured by luck; fortunate; meeting with good success or good fortune. Said of persons.
  • adjective Producing, or resulting in, good chance, or unexpectedly; favorable; auspicious; fortunate.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective occurring by chance
  • adjective having or bringing good fortune
  • adjective presaging or likely to bring good luck

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English *lukky, *luckie, equivalent to luck +‎ -y. Cognate with Scots lucky ("lucky"), West Frisian lokkich ("lucky, fortunate"), Dutch gelukkig ("lucky, forntunate, happy"). Compare also Danish lykkelig ("happy"), Swedish lycklig ("happy, lucky").

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Examples

  • There has been another murder committed within a few miles of this place, which has given us something to gossip about, for the committee of vigilance had the good nature, purely for our amusement I conclude, to apprehend a lucky individual (I call him _lucky_ advisedly, for he had all his expenses paid at the Humboldt, was remunerated for his lost time, enjoyed a holiday from hard work, had a sort of guard of honor composed of the most respectable men on the river, and was of more consequence for four days than ever he had been in the whole of his insignificant little life before) whom somebody fancied bore a faint resemblance to the description of the murderer.

    The Shirley Letters from California Mines in 1851-52 Louise Amelia Knapp Smith Clappe

  • I love you, Dad, I’m so lucky, I’m so lucky, I’m so lucky…

    Dad and Rocio barbylon 2001

  • I love you, Dad, I’m so lucky, I’m so lucky, I’m so lucky…

    Dad and Rocio barbylon 2001

  • If Kelly heard the word lucky one more time, she decided, she would have to murder someone.

    Little Earthquakes Jennifer Weiner 2004

  • And in that moment the word lucky took on a whole new meaning.

    Forbes.com: News Kai Falkenberg 2011

  • It would be way too easy to use the word "lucky" in describing how British actor Tom Payne was cast in the new HBO hit series Luck.

    Tamar Abrams: British Actor Tom Payne Rides HBO's Luck Tamar Abrams 2012

  • I tell him that because of where the mass lies I avoid the word lucky, the ENTs had been able to get a piece of tissue without Harry having to undergo surgery.

    Between Expectations Md Meghan Maclean Weir 2011

  • I tell him that because of where the mass lies I avoid the word lucky, the ENTs had been able to get a piece of tissue without Harry having to undergo surgery.

    Between Expectations Md Meghan Maclean Weir 2011

  • With Brittany Snow of American Dreams as her perky assistant, who takes charge of the shoe inventory, they take on impossible clients and make ludicrous legal arguments in courtroom scenes so ham-fisted that after one case, even Harry has to admit, "That's what I call a lucky verdict — if not preposterous."

    Roush Review: Remakes and a Retread 2011

  • It would be way too easy to use the word "lucky" in describing how British actor Tom Payne was cast in the new HBO hit series Luck.

    Tamar Abrams: British Actor Tom Payne Rides HBO's Luck Tamar Abrams 2012

Comments

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  • Unlucky people "miss chance opportunities because they are too focused on looking for something else. They go to parties intent on finding their perfect partner and so miss opportunities to make good friends. They look through newspapers determined to find certain types of job advertisements and as a result miss other types of jobs. Lucky people are more relaxed and open, and therefore see what is there rather than just what they are looking for."

    From the Telegraph article Be lucky - it's an easy skill to learn, by Richard Wiseman, 09 Jan 2003.

    May 10, 2010

  • Yes, indeedy. Many people look for Santa to be dressed as a portly, bearded older gentleman, ignoring the opportunity to chat with that charming fox lounging by the hearth. Little do they know, the unlucky bums ....

    May 10, 2010

  • My favorite fairy tales were always the ones where the king was disguised as a beggar, or a goddess was disguised as a crone, and there was just one clever farm girl who invited said king or goddess in for a warm meal. She wasn't expecting a reward, she was just kind. (Not that cleverness always works out for kindly farm girls - just look at the case of Clever Elsie, who became uncertain whether she actually was Clever Elsie: "Is it I, or is it not I?" (Some days I'm not sure who I am, but I hope I'm never so clever that I find myself mistaking the santa fox for a barbary ape.))

    May 11, 2010

  • I am always being told I was lucky because I found some success in my life. I actually worked hard to spot opportunities and create some luck for myself. Being lucky is actually in easy thing to learn but not many people really showing others how. I blog about it at http://mattkinsella.com/blog-2

    October 14, 2011

  • You're lucky I like the taste of SPAM, dude!

    October 15, 2011