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

Her son turns out to be Mr. Nivola’s character, the kind of guy who has a stash of $100 bills in a kitchen drawer for odds and ends.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 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

"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

But there’s joy in piecing together meals from odds and ends in the pantry.

From Salon • Dec. 5, 2024

I only went because a friend of mine had recently died of his long illness and I was feeling at loose odds and ends.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver