against all odds

Idioms

In spite of seeming very unlikely, as in Against all odds we had a snowstorm in early May, or Against all odds the slower team won. This transfer of a betting term to general usage occurred about 1900.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

If, against all odds, you have found the ERP fascinating, I recommend looking into something called the Capital Asset Pricing Model.

From Barron's • May 14, 2026

And now, against all odds, the Bird Cage is getting a second life.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026

Olympic team, her fifth Games, against all odds.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026

Following the win, Macclesfield FC - ranked 117 places below Palace in the football pyramid - posted on social media: "It's David who beat Goliath against all odds!"

From BBC • Jan. 10, 2026

She pointed to a fig tree and told Ishmael she’d planted it more years ago than she could remember; against all odds it had taken hold and produced enormous quantities of sweet figs.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023