oddball
Americannoun
adjective
noun
adjective
Etymology
Origin of oddball
Explanation
People who just don't fit in — they're a little strange, or somewhat eccentric — are oddballs. If you're a non-sports fan surrounded by enthusiastic football supporters cheering for the home team, you might feel like an oddball. The kid who brings her book to an amusement park is an oddball, and so is the guy who pushes his dog around in a baby stroller. This informal word for "weirdo" or "misfit" is good for describing someone whose eccentricities are fairly obvious, like your uncle, the oddball who wears full clown makeup to every family gathering. Oddball was first used in the 1940s, modeled after the earlier screwball, first meaning a wayward baseball pitch and later "eccentric person."
Vocabulary lists containing oddball
Strange
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Strange
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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.
Isaac Butler analyzes Pattinson’s evolution from teen heartthrob to oddball star.
From Slate ● Sep. 30, 2026
He also discovers the unlikeliest of love stories, making the appealingly discursive, touchingly oddball “History” feel like a bent, colorful flower poking out of the pavement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
The ongoing explosion of revival screenings in Los Angeles is an opportunity not just to revisit accepted classics, but also to give a spotlight to undersung oddball picks deserving of broader attention.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Rai is the oddball wearing not one, but two gloves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
To be sure, people sensed he was an oddball at the time, disconcertingly gifted, outspoken, irreverent - in short, a strange mix of child and sage.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
