beat the odds
idiom
: to succeed despite not having a good chance of succeeding
Most new restaurants fail, but this one somehow managed to beat the odds.
Examples of beat the odds in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Sean Astin, who would later play Samwise Gamgee in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, starred as the real-life Ruettiger, who beat the odds to find a place on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team despite having dyslexia and lacking the physical prowess of typical players.
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Jason Hahn, Peoplemag, 27 Mar. 2024
But two Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduates attempted to build a computer model that would beat the odds.
—Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 19 Mar. 2024
But in what is today southern Africa, some large predators managed to beat the odds for a time.
—Jeanne Timmons, New York Times, 22 May 2023
Nine months after being shot by a white man for ringing the wrong doorbell, Ralph Yarl continues to beat the odds and has earned a spot in the Missouri all-state band.
—Melissa Noel, Essence, 11 Jan. 2024
Julia’s main goal is to live life to the fullest as her wife, Martina Navratilova, beat the odds after battling two cancers.
—Dave Quinn, Peoplemag, 4 Oct. 2023
Music Grammy Awards beat the odds in Las Vegas with Jon Batiste and Silk Sonic the night’s biggest winners
April 3, 2022
The similarly high-profile Record of the Year nominations went to many of the same artists, all but one a woman.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Nov. 2023
Idle beat the odds after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2019 and survived.
—Zoey Lyttle, Peoplemag, 13 Oct. 2023
Read more: How Cordova helps children beat the odds in math.
—Rebecca Griesbach | Rgriesbach@al.com, al, 19 Sep. 2023
Jason Hahn, Peoplemag, 27 Mar. 2024
But two Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduates attempted to build a computer model that would beat the odds.
—Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 19 Mar. 2024
But in what is today southern Africa, some large predators managed to beat the odds for a time.
—Jeanne Timmons, New York Times, 22 May 2023
Nine months after being shot by a white man for ringing the wrong doorbell, Ralph Yarl continues to beat the odds and has earned a spot in the Missouri all-state band.
—Melissa Noel, Essence, 11 Jan. 2024
Julia’s main goal is to live life to the fullest as her wife, Martina Navratilova, beat the odds after battling two cancers.
—Dave Quinn, Peoplemag, 4 Oct. 2023
Music Grammy Awards beat the odds in Las Vegas with Jon Batiste and Silk Sonic the night’s biggest winners
April 3, 2022
The similarly high-profile Record of the Year nominations went to many of the same artists, all but one a woman.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Nov. 2023
Idle beat the odds after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2019 and survived.
—Zoey Lyttle, Peoplemag, 13 Oct. 2023
Read more: How Cordova helps children beat the odds in math.
—Rebecca Griesbach | Rgriesbach@al.com, al, 19 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'beat the odds.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near beat the odds
Cite this Entry
“Beat the odds.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beat%20the%20odds. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
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