Meaning & use
odd
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Different from what you expect; strange or unusual.
Grammar: Used before or after a noun: an odd noise; it's odd.
Patterns
- it's odd that something
- odd about something
It's odd that he didn't call back.
She wore an odd hat to the wedding.
There was an odd smell in the kitchen.
adjectivenot comparablemathematics
Describing a whole number that cannot be divided exactly by two.
Grammar: Either odd or even; not gradable.
Patterns
- odd number
Seven is an odd number.
The house numbers on this side of the street are all odd.
An odd number of players meant someone sat out.
adjectivebefore a noun
Happening occasionally or not part of a regular set.
Grammar: Always before a noun: odd jobs.
Patterns
- odd jobs
- odd moments
He does odd jobs around the neighborhood.
I read in odd moments between meetings.
She has a few odd socks in the drawer.
Word forms
| comparative | odder |
|---|---|
| superlative | oddest |
Common combinations
- odd number
- Nine is an odd number.
- odd job
- He did odd jobs to earn extra money.
- odd one out
- Which word is the odd one out?
- strangely odd
- The house had a strangely odd feeling.
- how odd
- How odd that nobody answered!
Synonyms and how they differ
- strange
- Strange is similar but can feel more unsettling, whereas odd is milder.
- peculiar
- Peculiar is more formal and suggests something unusual in a particular way.
- weird
- Weird is more informal and can be stronger.
- curious
- Curious in this sense describes something strange that attracts interest.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: odd or ode? odd or odds?
odd vs ode
An ode is a poem, which sounds similar but is unrelated.
odd vs odds
Odds refers to the chance of something happening.
Practice
Which of these numbers is odd?
Choose one answer.
Fifteen cannot be divided exactly by two. The others are even.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “odd”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.