odd

The word "odd" is used to describe things that are unusual or strange.

• A very odd man walked into our store today and asked if we sold snakeskin boots.
• Helen gets a lot of odd requests from people over the internet.
• Todd’s parents are very odd. They refuse to take off their jackets, even when it’s really hot outside.
• That’s odd. I thought for sure I had called the correct phone number, but it turns out I may have made a mistake.
• The performance was extremely odd.

He met an odd street performer today.

"Odd" numbers are those that are not divisible by two. Odd numbers are 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9.

• Houses ending in odd numbers can water their lawns today. Tomorrow even-numbered houses can water.
• There will be an odd number of people sitting at this table, so one person will have to sit on the end.

When you add an "s" to this word, you can create a noun that means "chances."

• What are the odds that he shows up to the meeting late again today?
• They face insurmountable odds in keeping their business running.
• I don’t like the odds for this horse, so I think I’ll choose another one to place a bet on.

Putting an "ly" ending on "odd" creates the adverb, "oddly."

• Those kids over there are behaving oddly.
• Oddly enough, the person who condemned the couple for having children out of wedlock was a single mother herself. (oddly enough: in contrast; ironically)

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This page was first published on July 8, 2012. It was updated on July 16, 2015.