fluke¹

[flook] /fluk/

noun

the part of an anchor that catches in the ground, especially the flat triangular piece at the end of each arm.

a barb, or the barbed head, of a harpoon, spear, arrow, or the like.

either half of the triangular tail of a whale.

Origin of fluke¹

1555-65; perhaps special use of fluke³

fluke²

[flook] /fluk/

noun

an accidental advantage; stroke of good luck:

He got the job by a fluke.

an accident or chance happening.

an accidentally successful stroke, as in billiards.

Origin

1855-60; of obscure origin; compare dial. fluke a guess

fluke³

[flook] /fluk/

noun

any of several American flounders of the genus Paralichthys, especially P. dentatus, found in the Atlantic Ocean.

any of various other flatfishes.

a trematode.

Origin

before 900; Middle English flok(e), fluke, Old English flōc; cognate with Old Norse flōki; compare Old High German flah flat (German flach)

Related forms

flukeless, adjective

Examples from the web for fluke

There is about a one in a thousand chance that this observation is a fluke.
It is easy to sympathize with fishermen who say that there are still plenty of fluke out there.
Elsewhere in the region, re-election may start to become a habit, not a fluke.
Even more remarkable, his mummification was a total fluke.
The signal is much more likely to be a fluke than anything else.
There is local fluke tossed with herbs and pickled pineapple, silky and difficult not to bolt.
For though the path was certain, it was in no way protected from danger or fluke.
If it were a one-time thing, we'd chalk it up to a fluke.
All that kept him balanced was the fluke of a weaker current.
The fluke was five inches long, twice as big as its two-and-a-half-inch roll of rice.

British Dictionary definitions for fluke

fluke¹

/fluːk/

noun

Also called flue. a flat bladelike projection at the end of the arm of an anchor

either of the two lobes of the tail of a whale or related animal

Also called flue. the barb or barbed head of a harpoon, arrow, etc

Word Origin

C16: perhaps a special use of fluke³ (in the sense: a flounder)

fluke²

/fluːk/

noun

an accidental stroke of luck

any chance happening

verb

(transitive) to gain, make, or hit by a fluke

Word Origin

C19: of unknown origin

fluke³

/fluːk/

noun

any parasitic flatworm, such as the blood fluke and liver fluke, of the classes Monogenea and Digenea (formerly united in a single class Trematoda)

another name for flounder² (sense 1)

Word Origin

Old English flōc; related to Old Norse flōki flounder, Old Saxon flaka sole, Old High German flah smooth

Word Origin and History for fluke

"flat end of an arm of an anchor," 1560s, perhaps from fluke (n.3) on resemblance of shape, or from Low German flügel "wing." Meaning "whale's tail" (in plural, flukes) is 1725.

"lucky stroke, chance hit," 1857, originally a lucky shot at billiards, of uncertain origin.

"flatfish," Old English floc "flatfish," related to Old Norse floke "flatfish," flak "disk, floe" (see flake (n.)). The parasite worm (1660s) so called from resemblance of shape.

fluke in Medicine

fluke ¹ (flōōk)
n.
See trematode.

fluke in Science

fluke

(flk)

Either of the two flattened fins of a whale's tail.
See trematode.

Slang definitions & phrases for fluke

fluke

noun

A good or bad stroke of luck; an extraordinary and unpredictable event: My winning was just a fluke/ We got onto that flight by a fluke

[1857+; origin unknown, but perhaps fr fluke, ''flatfish,'' by way of an early 1800s British slang sense of flat, ''easy dupe, victim,'' altered in billiards jargon to fluke, to characterize the seeming chicanery of a good stroke of luck]