accident n
1. a mishap; especially one causing injury or death
2. anything that happens by chance without an apparent cause [syn: fortuity, chance event]

Accident \Ac"ci*dent\, n. [F. accident, fr. L. accidens, -dentis, p. pr. of accidere to happen; ad + cadere to fall. See Cadence, Case.]
1. 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; as, to die by an accident. Of moving accidents by flood and field. --Shak. Thou cam'st not to thy place by accident: It is the very place God meant for thee. --Trench.
2. (Gram.) A property attached to a word, but not essential to it, as gender, number, case.
3. (Her.) A point or mark which may be retained or omitted in a coat of arms.
4. (Log.) (a) A property or quality of a thing which is not essential to it, as whiteness in paper; an attribute. (b) A quality or attribute in distinction from the substance, as sweetness, softness.
5. Any accidental property, fact, or relation; an accidental or nonessential; as, beauty is an accident. This accident, as I call it, of Athens being situated some miles from the sea. --J. P. Mahaffy.
6. Unusual appearance or effect. [Obs.] --Chaucer. Note: Accident, in Law, is equivalent to casus, or such unforeseen, extraordinary, extraneous interference as is out of the range of ordinary calculation.

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An accident is a specific, unexpected, unusual and unintended external action which occurs in a particular time and place, with no apparent and deliberate cause but with marked effects. It implies a generally negative outcome which may have been avoided or prevented had circumstances leading up to the accident been recognized, and acted upon, prior to its occurrence.

Experts in the field of injury prevention avoid use of the term 'accident' to describe events that cause injury in an attempt to highlight the predictable and preventable nature of most injuries. Such incidents are viewed from the perspective of epidemiology - predictable and preventable. Preferred words are more descriptive of the event itself, rather than of its unintended nature (e.g., collision, drowning, fall, etc.)

• Mock accident provides wake-up call to Bucksport students - Bangor Daily News
  BUCKSPORT, Maine — Students at Bucksport High School were shown — in graphic detail — what can happen to impaired or distracted drivers on Thursday during a mock accident staged by the school and those who respond to real-life crashes. Read more on this news related to 'Accident'
• Accident closes I-285 NB lanes in DeKalb County - MyFox Atlanta
  It is not known if anyone was injured, or when the lanes would reopen. Drivers are urged to avoid the area. Stay with FOX 5 and MyFoxAtlanta.com for updates to this developing story. If you have information related to the story, please e-mail ... Read more on this news related to 'Accident'
• ACCIDENT ON INTERSTATE 70: 2 die in fiery crash - Tribune-Star
  TERRE HAUTE — Two people were killed Wednesday evening after a fiery crash involving two semitrailers on Interstate 70 just east of Indiana 46 The accident occurred about 5 p.m. in the eastbound driving lane. According to a preliminary investigation, an ... Read more on this news related to 'Accident'