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

Germany’s leading indie fest has long made a specialty of outsiders and oddballs — artists who arrived without pedigree, training programs or an obvious industry slot and built the career anyway. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 17 Sep. 2026

Link shifts from a charming oddball as Whatsit to a sinister figure on the planet of Camazotz. — Emily McClanathan, Chicago Tribune, 15 Sep. 2026

This made him, along with Córdoba, his doctoral adviser, an oddball in the area. — Konstantin Kakaes, Quanta Magazine, 8 Sep. 2026

These sisters were not your average oddballs, especially as Herzog reimagines them. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 3 Sep. 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