- 1 strange or unusual They're very odd people. There's something odd about that man. It's most odd that (= very odd that) she hasn't written. The odd thing was that he didn't recognize me. She had the oddest feeling that he was avoiding her. compare peculiar Oxford Collocations Dictionary verbsbe, feel, look, … adverbextremely, fairly, very, … phraseshow odd, it is odd to think, something odd, … See full entry odd-
- 2(in compounds) strange or unusual in the way mentioned an odd-looking house an odd-sounding name not regular/often
- 3the odd [only before noun] (no comparative or superlative) happening or appearing occasionally; not very regular or frequent synonym occasional He makes the odd mistake—nothing too serious. various
- 4[only before noun] (no comparative or superlative) of no particular type or size; various decorations made of odd scraps of paper not matching
- 5[usually before noun] (no comparative or superlative) not with the pair or set that it belongs to; not matching You're wearing odd socks! numbers
- 6 (no comparative or superlative) (of numbers) that cannot be divided exactly by the number two 1, 3, 5 and 7 are odd numbers. opposite even available
- 7[only before noun] available; that somebody can use synonym spare Could I see you when you've got an odd moment? approximately
- 8(no comparative or superlative; usually placed immediately after a number) approximately or a little more than the number mentioned How old is she—seventy odd? He's worked there for twenty-odd years. Word OriginMiddle English (in the numerical sense): from Old Norse odda-, found in combinations such as odda-mathr ‘third or odd man’, from oddi ‘angle’.Extra examples I didn’t think it odd at the time. I find it odd that she takes so long to do that job. It’s odd to think I will never see her again. There’s something distinctly odd about her. There’s something odd going on. It’s most odd that she hasn’t written. The odd thing was that he didn’t recognize me. They’re very odd people.Idioms
strange
a person or thing that is different from others or does not fit easily into a group or set At school he was always the odd man out. Dog, cat, horse, shoe—which is the odd one out?
(old-fashioned, British English) a person who is slightly strange or crazy See related entries: Describing strange traits
Check pronunciation: odd
