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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
The couple has been active in L.A.’s goth/alternative music and event scene for years, co-creating the popular outdoor roller disco event Skate Oddity during the pandemic.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2026
Oddity also boosted its net revenue and adjusted earnings guidance for the full year.
From Barron's • Nov. 20, 2025
Suede bass player Mat Osman also joined in with tributes, saying: "RIP Herbie Flowers. So many great basslines - imagine having played on Space Oddity, Walk on the Wild Side and Rock On."
From BBC • Sep. 8, 2024
Your central character in "Space Oddity" wants to go to Mars.
From Salon • Apr. 14, 2023
Oddity it lacked, and mannerisms, but not, so it seems to me, individuality.
From Res Judicat? Papers and Essays by Birrell, Augustine
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.
