Lucky means experiencing good fortune or success by chance rather than through your own planning or effort. When you're lucky, something good happens to you that you didn't directly cause: you might find a twenty-dollar bill on the sidewalk, guess correctly on a question you didn't study for, or win a raffle prize at the school carnival.

Being lucky is different from being skilled or prepared. A basketball player who practices free throws for hours isn't lucky when she makes the shot; she's prepared. But if she throws up a wild shot at the buzzer that bounces off the rim three times before falling in, that's lucky. Luck is when circumstances work out in your favor for no particular reason you can control.

People sometimes carry lucky charms like a rabbit's foot or a special coin, hoping these objects will bring good fortune. Others have lucky numbers or wear lucky socks to big games. While these rituals can make people feel more confident, luck itself remains unpredictable and beyond anyone's control.

You might call yourself lucky to have a great teacher, good friends, or a loving family. In this sense, the word means being fortunate to have something valuable, even though you recognize you didn't earn it through effort alone. The opposite of lucky is unlucky, when random chance works against you instead of in your favor.