odds and ends

American  

noun

1. miscellaneous items, matters, etc.

2. fragments; remnants; scraps; bits.

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odds and ends British  

plural noun

1. miscellaneous items or articles

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odds and ends Idioms  

1. Miscellaneous items, fragments and remnants, as in I've finished putting everything away, except for a few odds and ends. This expression may have originated as odd ends in the mid-1500s, meaning “short leftovers of some material” (such as lumber or cloth). It had acquired its present form and meaning by the mid-1700s.

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Etymology

Origin of odds and ends

First recorded in 1740–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

odds and ends

To watch this happening is like stumbling upon a photo of someone you haven’t seen in a long time, tucked away in a box of odds and ends, and pressing it to your heart.

From Salon ● May 25, 2026

He said he moved the safe, which contained odds and ends, on a hot day to make more room for election observers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026

She’s long been a prolific sender of care packages — sweets, soup mixes, plants, little odds and ends she thinks I might like.

From Salon ● Mar. 17, 2026

In contrast to a designer, a tinkerer must, Jacob argued, manage with odds and ends.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025

The walls were covered with knickknacks and baubles, keepsakes and trinkets that mounted up the beams to the corners of the ceiling, all crammed together in a chaotic jumble of odds and ends.

From "The Reader" by Traci Chee