oddball

noun

odd·​ball ˈäd-ˌbȯl 

: one that is eccentric

oddball adjective

Synonyms of oddball

• eccentric
• character
• original

Examples of oddball in a Sentence

He used to be a real oddball back in high school.

she's known as the office oddball

Recent Examples on the Web

Comedy has always been filled with outsiders and oddballs trying to make a living getting laughs. — Emma Specter, Vogue, 31 Oct. 2026

Fittingly, Gentling the Horse’s overriding theme is a fascination with the oddballs who scrape by on the fringes of capitalist society. — Zach Schonfeld, Pitchfork, 26 Oct. 2026

The general trivia and straight clues are also tough, and there’s a good amount of novelty, including 11 debut entries, a few oddballs among them, and one utterly brutal misdirect that significantly spiced up my solving experience. — Caitlin Lovinger, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2026

Brecht once observed that Seghers thrived on the depiction of oddballs and loners. — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1948, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for oddball

• aldol
• armhole
• atoll
• awol
• backhaul
• banal
• baseball
• befall
• cabal
• catchall
• cecal
• centrale

Kids Definition

oddball

noun

odd·​ball -ˌbȯl 

: a person who behaves strangely