Definition of “opportunity” - English Dictionary

American
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“opportunity” in English

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opportunitynoun

uk ​ /ˌɒp.əˈtʃuː.nə.ti/ us ​ /ˌɑː.pɚˈtuː.nə.t̬i/

B1 [ C or U ] an occasion or situation that makes it possible to do something that you want to do or have to do, or the possibility of doing something:

Everyone will have an opportunity to comment.
I was never given the opportunity of going to college.
[ + to infinitive ] The exhibition is a unique opportunity to see her later work.
An ankle injury meant she missed the opportunity to run in the qualifying heat.
formal Please contact us at the earliest opportunity (= as soon as possible).
He goes fishing at every opportunity (= as often as possible).
I used to love going out dancing, but I don't get much opportunity now.
He had a golden (= an extremely good) opportunity to score in the first half but squandered it.

B2 [ C ] the chance to get a job:

employment/job opportunities
opportunities for young graduates
There are some great opportunities now for engineers trained in computer-aided design.

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Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

Grammar

Opportunity or possibility?We use opportunity to talk about a situation in which we can do something that we want to do. Opportunity is most commonly followed by a verb in the to-infinitive form, or of + -ing form: …

(Definition of “opportunity” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

“opportunity” in American English

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opportunitynoun [ C/U ]

us ​ /ˌɑp·ərˈtu·nɪ·t̬i/

› an occasion or situation which makes it possible to do something that you want to do or have to do, or the possibility of doing something:

[ C ] She was given the opportunity to manage a day-care center.
[ C ] The university is not providing enough recreational opportunities for the community.
[ U ] He had ample opportunity to examine the car.

(Definition of “opportunity” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

“opportunity” in Business English

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opportunitynoun

uk ​ /ˌɒpəˈtjuːnəti/ us ​ /ˌɒpərˈtuːnəti/ plural opportunities

› [ C or U ] an occasion or situation that makes it possible to do something that you want to do or have to do, or the possibility of doing something:

an opportunity to do sth There will be an opportunity to discuss the matter again next week.
an opportunity for sth Fast internet service in rural areas provided a new opportunity for prosperity.
get/have an opportunity Everyone will have the opportunity to comment.
give/offer/provide an opportunity The merger offers an excellent opportunity for growth in the Asian market.
take/seize an opportunity We need to seize this opportunity while we can.
miss/lose an opportunity I've been invited to speak at the conference – it's an opportunity that's too good to miss.
You should include employees in decision-making at every opportunity.
Please contact us at the earliest opportunity.
He left because there was a lack of opportunity for promotion.

› [ C ] a chance to get a job:

employment/job opportunities
an opportunity for sb We need to create more opportunities for young graduates.

See also

Equal Employment Opportunity
equal opportunities

(Definition of “opportunity” from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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opportunity

We must continue to encourage the promotion of language-learning by all possible means, and this programme provides us with an ideal opportunity to do so.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
Particular attention must be paid to women who find it harder to achieve equality of opportunity, such as women with disabilities, immigrants and heads of families.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
Indeed, it has created an amalgam of illegal and illicit activities, and the persons and companies named in it were never heard, let alone given the opportunity to defend themselves.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
European education and culture, traditionally characterised by cultural diversity, have every opportunity to thrive in an open world market and indirectly to support minority cultures, in particular.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
If this is to be a reality rather than an illusion, then the opportunity to move with social security benefit, with guaranteeing rights of social security, must be seized.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
There is still an opening, an opportunity to achieve the goals we have set, and violence must not prevent us from seizing it.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
Sadly, on this, the first - the best - opportunity of bringing together economics, social objectives and environment, social objectives are not being given their due.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
I should like to take this opportunity to welcome to the official gallery a number of distinguished visitors here with us today.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
We had the opportunity of holding intensive discussions, not only with the packaging industry, but also with the packers and the environmental groups.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English
We must seize this opportunity now.
From Europarl Parallel Corpus - English

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