26984 words

odds

10 definitions • 23 examples
1
the probability (= how likely it is) that a particular thing will or will not happen:

Examples:

If you drive a car all your life, the odds are that you'll have an accident at some point.
There are heavy odds against people succeeding in such a bad economic climate.
What are the odds on him being (= do you think he will be) re-elected?
The overall odds of winning a lottery prize are 1 in 13.
The odds are stacked against a woman succeeding (= it is not likely that a woman will succeed) in the business.
2
in gambling (= the activity of risking money guessing the result of something), a probability expressed as a number:

Examples:

The odds against my horse winning (= that it will not win)/on my horse winning (= that it will win) are a hundred to one.
The odds that the US entrant will win the race are ten to one.
3
the likelihood that a particular thing will or will not happen:

Examples:

She was sick yesterday, so the odds are she won’t be in today.
4
the odds of something happening are how probable it is that it will happen:

Examples:

the odds are against sth At the moment it seems the odds are against a deal.
the odds are on sth/in sth's favour They are so evenly matched, the odds are on a draw.
the odds are good/strong The odds are good that the country's transformation will proceed smoothly.
good/better odds People retiring today have better odds than ever of living a long healthy life.
the odds are slim/long Given the poor economic climate, the odds of success are slim.
5
how probable something is, expressed as a pair of numbers or a percentage, for example when betting :

Examples:

good/bad odds We think 6 to 2 are good odds.
the odds are ... against/in favour of sth The odds are 100-1 against him getting the job.
the odds of sth happening For taxpayers with incomes above $100,000 the odds of being audited in 2006 were 1 in 59.
6
to disagree with someone:

Examples:

She and her boss are at odds over the issue of training.
On this issue, Britain is at odds with the rest of the EU.
7
if two things are at odds, they are very different and cannot both be correct:

Examples:

These findings are at odds with our research.
Management's and shareholders' interests seem to be at odds.
8
used to say that someone has achieved something or succeeded despite this being very unlikely:

Examples:

Against all odds, she won the case.
9
someone is unlikely/likely to succeed:

Examples:

In a case like this, the odds are against the defendant.
10
more than something is really worth:

Examples:

They paid way over the odds for their new offices.

Navigation