differing in nature from what is ordinary, usual, or expected.
His ice cream had an odd choice of topping combinations.
singular or peculiar in a strange or eccentric way.
She can be an odd person sometimes.
The group were known for their odd manners.
fantastic; bizarre.
Her taste in clothing was rather odd.
(of a number) leaving a remainder of 1 when divided by 2 (opposed to even).
The numbers 3, 15, and 181 are odd.
more or less, especially a little more (used in combination with a round number).
I owe three hundred-odd dollars.
being a small amount in addition to what is counted or specified.
I have five gross and a few odd dozens.
being part of a pair, set, or series of which the rest is lacking.
I found an odd glove in the back of the drawer.
remaining after all others are paired, grouped, or divided into equal numbers or parts.
Everybody gets two hamburgers and I get the odd one.
left over after all others are used, consumed, etc..
After we finished the jigsaw puzzle, there was one odd piece that didn't seem to fit anywhere.
(of a pair) not matching.
Do you know you're wearing an odd pair of socks?
not forming part of any particular group, set, or class.
He tends to pick up odd bits of information that can be useful in unexpected situations.
happening, coming, found, etc., irregularly or only now and then; occasional.
She saved up money doing odd jobs over the summer break.
We didn’t see any interesting birds other than the odd hawk.
out-of-the-way; secluded.
We took a tour to the odd parts of the country.
Mathematics. (of a function) having a sign that changes when the sign of each independent variable is changed at the same time.
something that is odd.
Golf.
a stroke more than the opponent has played.
British. a stroke taken from a player's total score for a hole in order to give them odds.
unusual or peculiar in appearance, character, etc
occasional, incidental, or random
odd jobs
leftover or additional
odd bits of wool
not divisible by two
represented or indicated by a number that is not divisible by two Compare even 1
graphs are on odd pages
being part of a matched pair or set when the other or others are missing
an odd sock
odd volumes
(in combination) used to designate an indefinite quantity more than the quantity specified in round numbers
fifty-odd pounds
out-of-the-way or secluded
odd corners
maths (of a function) changing sign but not absolute value when the sign of the independent variable is changed, as in y=x³ See even 1
a person or thing excluded from others forming a group, unit, etc
golf
one stroke more than the score of one's opponent
an advantage or handicap of one stroke added to or taken away from a player's score
a thing or person that is odd in sequence or number
What is a basic definition of odd? Odd refers to a number that will have a remainder of 1 when divided by 2. Odd also describes something that is unusual or weird. Odd has many other senses as an adjective and a few as a noun. An odd number is any number that has a remainder of 1 when it’s divided by 2. For example, 7 divided by 2 is 3 with a remainder of 1. 7 is an odd number. On the other hand, 8 divided by 2 is 4 with no remainder. A number, such as 8, that has no remainder when divided by 2 is called an even number. Real-life examples: 5, 11, 37, and 649 are examples of odd numbers. Used in a sentence: I always like to cut my pizzas into an odd number of slices. Odd also describes something that is unusual or not what a person would expect. Real-life examples: People often make odd choices or odd decisions that catch other people by surprise. For example, it might be considered odd to go swimming in regular clothing because people usually wear a bathing suit. A firefighter showing up to a fire in an ice cream truck would be odd because they are expected to drive fire trucks, which have firefighting tools. Used in a sentence: They were caught off guard by the man’s odd choice of words. Odd can also refer to something that is very strange, weird, or bizarre. Real-life examples: Works of fantasy like the Harry Potter series often include very odd creatures, such as plant monsters or giant, flying jellyfish. In everyday life, people may display odd behavior, such as walking on their hands down the street. Used in a sentence: The circus clown drove an odd car that was shaped like a giant pie.
See strange.
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English odde, from Old Norse oddi “odd (number)”
First recorded in 1980, in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
The numbers 1, 3, 5, and 35 are all odd numbers — they can't be divided by two. They are not even. Also, things that are weird or strange are called odd. This word covers things that are slightly off-kilter, like odd numbers. You can use odd for a single thing that belongs in a pair, like an odd sock or odd mitten. If someone wants you to do odd jobs, that could mean almost anything: odd jobs are random and unpredictable jobs that could come up. When you describe a person as odd, or that they’re exhibiting odd behavior, it means they're peculiar and out of the ordinary.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But despite these odd and somewhat unfashionable choices, he cares deeply about the opinion of the average theatergoer.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
"You see the odd smaller fish, but a lot of anglers would say they don't really bother coming to this part of the Torrent River anymore."
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
Games are here, there and everywhere every day of the week, sometimes at odd hours.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Graham replied: “Well, OK, from my point of view, if you know anything about me, it’d be odd not to do this.”
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
That seemed an odd thing to say, given where he was headed.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
This involves shuttle services, limited areas, relatively slow speeds — they are typically ODD, which is learned and programmed.
From The Verge ● Jan. 18, 2022
I you throw a label on a kid like ODD, if your resources are limited anyway, that of course impacts how you treat that kid and how you perceive that.
From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2021
Nick Stickland is the co-founder of ODD, the London advertising agency behind a recent campaign for Jacamo that celebrated the notion of “big”.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 25, 2020
I am far from an expert in how to best support students with ODD, but I do know that one of the most important things they need is consistency.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2020
“All right, so this ODD of yours,” he says.
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
All of this makes it seem odder that Google has become one of the biggest thorns in Nvidia’s side.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026
Among one of the odder entries in Tuesday's document drop was a fake video showing an Epstein-like figure in a prison cell, which raised questions of how it had appeared in the department's official files.
From BBC ● Dec. 23, 2025
If attacking a public advocacy group seems like an odd stance for an elected official, it’s made even odder by the fact that Lara wouldn’t have his job if it weren’t for Consumer Watchdog.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2024
It was one of the odder tit-for-tat battles to have emerged so far in the federal case accusing former President Donald J. Trump of plotting to subvert the 2020 election.
From New York Times ● Jan. 18, 2024
“Ayama yuman,” said the creature, and then something even odder happened: the creatures laughed.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
One of the oddest and most affecting pieces in the choral repertory is coming to Cincinnati’s May Festival on Tuesday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026
They were also there in my oddest hours — I once wore an argyle tie for an entire year in hopes of impressing a certain woman, and they never made me change.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2025
Of all the oddball companies that have come to define the current era of artificial intelligence hype, Elon Musk’s xAI stands out as perhaps the oddest.
From Slate ● May 16, 2025
One of the oddest aspects of 2015's “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst” is how badly Robert Durst wants to be known and understood.
From Salon ● Apr. 21, 2024
I still didn’t see any dog, but then the oddest thing happened: the boy barked at me.
From "Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus" by Dusti Bowling
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.
