Meanings
- idiomaticuncountableThe random production or occurrence of favorable or unfavorable results.
She got a real dud. Well, that's the luck of the draw for you.
4 more examples
She got a big winner [ticket for a large prize]. It was the luck of the draw!
[A] dry ditch or moat . . . should have been constructed around towers in particularly exposed or vulnerable positions but in some cases it seems that they were selected by the luck of the draw.
1973, Sheila Sutcliffe, Martello Towers, →ISBN, page 63[I]s it merely the luck of the draw that turns some novels into blockbusters and others of equal merit into also-rans?
1996 May 21, Carey Goldberg, “Best-Selling Author, but Not at Home”, in New York Times, retrieved 08 Jun 2013If you've never been a smoker and you develop lung cancer, how did you get it? Is it genetics, environment, radon, luck of the draw?
2005 August 10, “What You Need to Know on Smoking and Lung Cancer”, in TimeSynonyms: chance, happenstance, fortuity
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe random production or occurrence of favorable or unfavorable results.
Origin
An allusion to the random manner in which objects (such as playing cards, straws, or marbles) are distributed, drawn, or withdrawn (from a card deck, bag, or other container) in many games of chance (such as card games).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
luck of the draw. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/luck%20of%20the%20draw
“luck of the draw.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/luck%20of%20the%20draw. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “luck of the draw,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/luck%20of%20the%20draw.
Source: luck of the draw on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.