eccentric
deviating from the recognized or customary character, practice, etc.; irregular; erratic; peculiar; odd: eccentric conduct;an eccentric person.
Geometry. not having the same center; not concentric: used especially of two circles or spheres at least one of which contains the centers of both.
(of an axis, axle, etc.) not situated in the center.
Machinery. having the axis or support away from the center: an eccentric wheel.
Astronomy. deviating from a circular form, as an elliptic orbit.
a person who has an unusual, peculiar, or odd personality, set of beliefs, or behavior pattern.
something that is unusual, peculiar, or odd.
Machinery. a device for converting circular motion into rectilinear motion, consisting of a disk fixed somewhat off-center to a revolving shaft, and working freely in a surrounding collar (eccentric strap ), to which a rod (eccentric rod ) is attached.
Origin of eccentric
1- Also especially British, ex·cen·tric .
Other words for eccentric
Opposites for eccentric
Other words from eccentric
- ec·cen·tri·cal, adjective
- ec·cen·tri·cal·ly, adverb
- non·ec·cen·tric, adjective
- non·ec·cen·tri·cal·ly, adverb
- un·ec·cen·tric, adjective
- un·ec·cen·tri·cal·ly, adverb
Words Nearby eccentric
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use eccentric in a sentence
He’s been around long enough to know that life is much more eccentric than he is.
When Dead Beer Walks: A Dane in Vietnam Turns Strange Brew Into Craft Gin | Eugene Robinson | February 12, 2021 | OzyBoston Dynamics, the company best known for eccentric videos of animal-like machines, has upgraded its classic robotic dog Spot.
Boston Dynamics adds an ‘arm’ to its robotic dog Spot | Dalvin Brown | February 4, 2021 | Washington PostThey bonded in their love of the Bills and of the eccentric.
‘Bills Mafia’ waited a generation for a team like this. It’s had to embrace it from afar. | Adam Kilgore | January 7, 2021 | Washington PostWhile a planet on a circular orbit moves at a constant speed around the star, planets on eccentric orbits move faster when they are closer to the star.
We’re the Cosmic 1 Percent But Our Solar System Isn’t a Complete Weirdo - Facts So Romantic | Sean Raymond | January 5, 2021 | NautilusSoon after, the eccentric and apparently sleepless billionaire tweeted a series of other messages about Bitcoin.
Sometimes I wear my silk pyjamas when I am going for a walk in the mornings, does that make me eccentric?
She was one of the wealthiest women in the world and certainly the most eccentric noble of her time.
One of my most important mentors was a brilliant and eccentric rabbi from Bethesda, Maryland.
To his peers, he's an all-star eccentric who is pitied or clucked over protectively as often as he is envied.
The women Peterson photographed were offbeat, eccentric, irreverent, and not conventionally pretty.
Gosta Peterson's Bohemian Rhapsody: Unpacking a Photographer's '60s Secrets | Lizzie Crocker | September 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTLorenzo Dow is still remembered by some of the "old fogies" as one of the most eccentric men that ever lived.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun; | VariousFrom all the accounts that have come down to us, he seems to have been a man of irregular habits and eccentric genius.
Violins and Violin Makers | Joseph PearceJohn N. Maffit, the well known and eccentric methodist preacher, died at Mobile.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel MunsellHe is simply an eccentric Scot, who does not see why he should pay for crossing a river that he can cross for nothing.
Friend Mac Donald | Max O'RellBut the man inside these voluminous clothes is even still more eccentric.
The Real Latin Quarter | F. Berkeley Smith
British Dictionary definitions for eccentric
/ (ɪkˈsɛntrɪk) /
deviating or departing from convention, esp in a bizarre manner; irregular or odd
situated away from the centre or the axis
not having a common centre: eccentric circles Compare concentric
not precisely circular
a person who deviates from normal forms of behaviour, esp in a bizarre manner
a device for converting rotary motion to reciprocating motion
Origin of eccentric
1Derived forms of eccentric
- eccentrically, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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