odds
the probability that something is so, will occur, or is more likely to occur than something else: The odds are that it will rain today.
the ratio of probability that something is so, will occur, or is more likely to occur than something else.
this ratio used as the basis of a bet; the ratio by which the bet of one party to a wager exceeds that of the other, granted by one of two betting opponents to equalize the chances favoring one of them: The odds are two-to-one that it won't rain today.
an equalizing allowance, as that given the weaker person or team in a contest; handicap.
an advantage or degree of superiority on the side of two contending parties; a difference favoring one of two contestants.
an amount or degree by which one thing is better or worse than another.
Idioms about odds
at odds, at variance; in disagreement: They were usually at odds over political issues.
by all odds, in every respect; by far; undoubtedly: She is by all odds the brightest child in the family.: Also by long odds, by odds.
Origin of odds
1Words Nearby odds
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use odds in a sentence
For example, if you’re testing whether Hutcho Pills reduce your risk of stress fractures, an odds ratio of 1 would indicate that runners who took the pills were equally likely to get injured compared to runners who didn’t take the pills.
Why That New “Science-Backed” Supplement Probably Doesn’t Work | mmirhashem | July 22, 2022 | Outside OnlineThe last thing to address is a pair of oddities in the championship odds portion of the projections.
Will The Bucks Run It Back? Can LeBron Win His Fifth Ring? How Our Model Sees This NBA Season. | Jared Dubin | October 14, 2021 | FiveThirtyEightThere is not one specific team that would benefit from the Clippers’ odds dropping, as several teams would simply gain 1 percentage point in the championship odds column.
Will The Bucks Run It Back? Can LeBron Win His Fifth Ring? How Our Model Sees This NBA Season. | Jared Dubin | October 14, 2021 | FiveThirtyEightNo word on who will star, but given Moriarty’s strong connections to Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon, the odds list toward a decidedly A-list cast.
Liane Moriarty writes women’s fiction. Have a problem with that? She doesn’t. | Karen Heller | September 10, 2021 | Washington PostIt’s interesting that for all the obsession over who was the killer and the online odds rankings and guessing and all that, the series ends on the theme of how a community deals with pain and grief.
Julianne Nicholson Breaks Down the ‘Mare of Easttown’ Finale’s Tragic Twist | Kevin Fallon | May 31, 2021 | The Daily Beast
The odds of getting re-arrested are a lot slimmer if a person has a job.
His First Day Out Of Jail After 40 Years: Adjusting To Life Outside | Justin Rohrlich | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTIn 1972, Maine Sen. Edmund Muskie was the odds-on favorite to win the Democratic Presidential nomination.
But taking such action puts them at odds with the most powerful and best-organized segment of their coalition.
How Public Sector Unions Divide the Democrats | Daniel DiSalvo | December 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe rift put Washington at odds with countries like Brazil, Uruguay or Chile, which seemed to have come to terms with their past.
Venezuela Says Goodbye to Its Lil Friend, While the Rest of the Continent Cheers | Catalina Lobo-Guererro | December 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt had offered odds of 10-1 on the Queen abdicating during the Christmas message.
The cupidity of a man had evidently led him to collect together these odds and ends, and try to turn them to profitable account.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.Meadows began to play inner planet combinations that occasionally paid, though at short odds.
Fee of the Frontier | Horace Brown FyfeWe made a good fight I know, the odds were in our favour and success seemed assured.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland | Joseph TatlowA stronger man would have fought against odds like those and won for himself a place that would suffer no denial.
The Soldier of the Valley | Nelson LloydThus it was that he himself created the morale which enabled him again and again to conquer against overwhelming odds.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-Pattison
British Dictionary definitions for odds
/ (ɒdz) /
(foll by on or against) the probability, expressed as a ratio, that a certain event will take place: the odds against the outsider are a hundred to one
the amount, expressed as a ratio, by which the wager of one better is greater than that of another: he was offering odds of five to one
the likelihood that a certain state of affairs will be found to be so: the odds are that he is drunk
the chances or likelihood of success in a certain undertaking: their odds were very poor after it rained
an equalizing allowance, esp one given to a weaker side in a contest
the advantage that one contender is judged to have over another: the odds are on my team
British a significant difference (esp in the phrase it makes no odds)
at odds
on bad terms
appearing not to correspond or match: the silvery hair was at odds with her youthful shape
give odds or lay odds to offer a bet with favourable odds
take odds to accept such a bet
over the odds
more than is expected, necessary, etc: he got two pounds over the odds for this job
unfair or excessive
what's the odds? British informal what difference does it make?
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with odds
In addition to the idioms beginning with odds
- odds and ends
- odds are, the
also see:
- against all odds
- at odds
- by all odds
- lay odds
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Browse