fluke.
A lucky or improbable occurrence that could probably never be repeated.
Meaning & usage
A lucky or improbable occurrence that could probably never be repeated.
We've classified by a fluke; actually, the first goal was just a total fluke.
Where this word comes from
Unknown, perhaps dialectal. It seems to have originally referred to a lucky shot at billiards. Possibly connected to sense 3, referring to whales' use of flukes to move rapidly. Possibly derived from German Glück (“luck, good fortune, happiness”).
To obtain a successful outcome by pure chance.
I fluked a pass in the multiple-choice exam.
To fortuitously pot a ball in an unintended way.
He fluked the other red into the middle pocket, despite the double kiss.
Where this word comes from
Unknown, perhaps dialectal. It seems to have originally referred to a lucky shot at billiards. Possibly connected to sense 3, referring to whales' use of flukes to move rapidly. Possibly derived from German Glück (“luck, good fortune, happiness”).
A summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus)
A trematode; a parasitic flatworm of the class Trematoda, related to tapeworms (class Cestoda).
The man became infected with flukes after eating a meal of raw fish.
Where this word comes from
From Old English flōc (“flatfish”), of Germanic origin, related to German flach (“flat”), Old Norse floke (“flatfish”), all ultimately from Proto-Germanic *flakaz.
Any of the triangular blades at the end of an anchor, designed to catch the ground.
The fluke of the anchor was wedged between two outcroppings of rock and could not be dislodged.
Either of the two lobes of a whale's or similar creature's tail.
The dolphin had an open wound on the left fluke of its tail where the propeller had injured it.
A metal hook on the head of certain staff weapons (such as a bill), made in various forms depending on function, whether used for grappling or to penetrate armour when swung at an opponent.
The polearm had a wide, sharpened fluke attached to the central point.
In general, a winglike formation on a central piece.
After casting the bronze statue, we filed down the flukes and spurs from the molding process.
Waste cotton.
Where this word comes from
Mid-16th century in the sense of “anchor blade”. Probably the same word as in etymology 2 above or else a related word for something flat (cf. Proto-Germanic *flakaz). A derivation from Middle Low German vlögel (“wing”), from Proto-Germanic *flugilaz, seems phonetically impossible. If anything, related vlōch, vlucht (“flight”, both also “wing”) or even *vlunke (modern Low German Flunk (“wing, pinion”)) are more plausible candidates. Note that the kind of whale's fin is called Fluke in contemporary German, but this is likely from English.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.