noun
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an odd person or thing
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an odd quality or characteristic
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the condition of being odd
Etymology
Origin of oddity
Explanation
An oddity is anything strange or unusual. Wearing ear muffs during a heat wave would be considered an oddity, because most people wouldn't do that. Anything odd is weird, strange, unusual, or bizarre. Oddities are things like that. Calling good friends "sir" would be an oddity, since that word is usually used in formal situations. Oddities can also be objects, especially unusual objects or souvenirs someone might collect.
Vocabulary lists containing oddity
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
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"Superman and Me" and "A Smart Cookie/It's Our Story, Too"
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Emma
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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.
In yeast they are extremely small and precise -- a striking oddity in the tree of life that has puzzled chromosome biologists for decades.
From Science Daily • Mar. 10, 2026
The complex gained fame as an arresting sight on the L.A. skyline, a graffiti-covered oddity on Figueroa Street — the wide thoroughfare that connects downtown’s financial district with L.A.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2026
The oddity shows up in the options markets too.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026
Manchester United are still a bit of an oddity but they are entertaining, you'd give them that.
From BBC • Dec. 18, 2025
Tis but the way we all are named; for some oddity we have, or for where we live, or for what we do.
From "The Door in the Wall" by Marguerite de Angeli
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.
