Kismet is the idea that certain things are meant to happen, no matter what anyone does to prevent them. It's fate or destiny, especially when something feels like it was supposed to work out exactly the way it did.

If you meet your best friend by pure chance on the first day of school, sitting in alphabetically assigned seats, you might call it kismet. When a writer discovers an old family letter that gives her the perfect idea for a story she's been struggling with, that feels like kismet too.

People usually use kismet for happy or meaningful coincidences that seem too perfect to be random. It carries a sense of wonder, like the universe arranged things specially. You might say “It was kismet” when describing how your parents met, or how you ended up with the perfect puppy who needed a home just when your family was ready to adopt.

Kismet typically describes fortunate or meaningful events. It's a way of recognizing that sometimes wonderful things happen that no one could have planned or predicted.