| English Dictionary |
ODD
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does odd mean?
• ODD (adjective)
The adjective ODD has 6 senses:
1. not divisible by two
2. not easily explained
3. an indefinite quantity more than that specified
4. beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
5. of the remaining member of a pair
6. not used up
Familiarity information: ODD used as an adjective is common.
Dictionary entry details
| Declension: comparative and superlative |
Superlative: oddest
Sense 1
Meaning:
Not divisible by two
Synonyms:
odd; uneven
Antonym:
even (divisible by two)
Derivation:
oddness (the parity of odd numbers (not divisible by two))
Sense 2
Meaning:
Not easily explained
Context example:
it is odd that his name is never mentioned
Similar:
unusual (not usual or common or ordinary)
Derivation:
oddness (eccentricity that is not easily explained)
Sense 3
Meaning:
An indefinite quantity more than that specified
Context example:
invited 30-odd guests
Similar:
inexact (not exact)
Domain usage:
combining form (a bound form used only in compounds)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
Synonyms:
curious; funny; odd; peculiar; queer; rum; rummy; singular
Context example:
singular behavior
Similar:
strange; unusual (being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird)
Derivation:
oddity (something unusual -- perhaps worthy of collecting)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Of the remaining member of a pair
Synonyms:
odd; unmatched; unmated; unpaired
Context example:
an odd glove
Similar:
mismatched (either not matched or unsuitably matched)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Not used up
Synonyms:
left; left over; leftover; odd; remaining; unexpended
Context example:
unexpended provisions
Similar:
unexhausted (not used up completely)
Context examples
At the odd sound the lovers turned and saw her.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
Or if the two Miss Spenlows (elderly ladies of that sort are odd characters sometimes) should not be likely persons to address in that way!
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
Oh! Captain Benwick is very well, I believe, but he is a very odd young man.
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)
Very unfriendly, certainly; and he must be a very odd man; but we are so glad to have her amongst us again!
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
The laugh was repeated in its low, syllabic tone, and terminated in an odd murmur.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
Top off! cried the mouse, that is a very odd and uncommon name, is it a usual one in your family?
(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)
Although the dance may appear odd, it keeps the orbits stable, researchers said.
(NASA Finds Neptune Moons Locked in 'Dance of Avoidance', NASA)
In an odd way, if this happens to you, it would be a good sign, for only rising stars experience it.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
Its name derives from its odd shape, which resembles everyone’s favourite ringed planet seen edge-on.
(The Strange Structures of the Saturn Nebula, ESO)
Fatty acids that have an odd number of carbons present a special challenge.
(Oxidation of Odd-Numbered Chain Fatty Acid Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)
| Learn English with... Proverbs |
"The more you mow the lawn, the faster the grass grows." (Albanian proverb)
"Human thinks and God plans." (Arabic proverb)
"If you own two houses, it's raining in one of them." (Corsican proverb)