odd man out
Americannoun
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a method of selecting or eliminating a person from a group, as by matching coins, especially in preparation for playing a game.
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the person so selected or eliminated.
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a game consisting of this method.
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A person who is left out of a group for some reason, as in The invitation was for couples only, so Jane was odd man out . [Mid-1800s]
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Something or someone who differs markedly from the others in a group, as in Among all those ranch-style houses, their Victorian was odd man out . [Late 1800s]
Etymology
Origin of odd man out
First recorded in 1885–90
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.
More recently, he’s become the odd man out at Meta.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 16, 2025
However, he became the odd man out in the team’s bullpen after the Dodgers’ recent signings of Yates and left-hander Tanner Scott.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2025
I can hear the faint creaking of floorboards in my house yet when I’m in the middle of a robust three-way conversation, I feel like the odd man out.
From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2024
Professor Tillman described himself as the perpetual odd man out.
From New York Times ● Feb. 7, 2024
Sometimes the loneliness of being the odd man out in these conversations got to me but most of the time I just ignored it.
From "How I Live Now" by Meg Rosoff
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
