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

While the June war reduced Iran’s nuclear program to odds and ends, together these could help the regime rebuild and pursue a bomb again.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026

She earned about $200 a week from the stand and used the money to help buy groceries and odds and ends for the children.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2025

About eight years ago she launched a series of Instagram videos in which she whips up meals using leftovers and other odds and ends she finds in her fridge.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025

"Small independents like myself are only allowed to order from a list of random mismatched odds and ends that the big shops clearly didn't want," she said.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2025

He wished that he were walking through the streets with her just as they were doing now, but openly and without fear, talking of trivialities and buying odds and ends for the household.

From "1984" by George Orwell