oddity

noun

odd·​i·​ty ˈä-də-tē 

plural oddities

1

: an odd person, thing, event, or trait

2

: the quality or state of being odd

Synonyms of oddity

• trick
• quirk
• trait
• characteristic
• peculiarity
• idiosyncrasy
• mannerism
• eccentricity
• singularity

Examples of oddity in a Sentence

Her shyness makes her a bit of an oddity in the business world.

The zoo has such oddities as anteaters and platypuses.

Recent Examples on the Web

The redwood totem pole of Weed — a 32-foot roadside oddity that stood for 64 years — now lies flat in the parking lot of the Ray’s Food Place grocery store. —Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2026

From biological hosts like gut bacteria and pregnancy tests to digital oddities like blockchains and PDFs, the game’s presence on everything from robot mowers to anti-bot CAPTCHA highlights its status as the ultimate benchmark for system versatility. —Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 3 Mar. 2026

What is in Born Weird Tattoo’s collection of oddities? —Idaho Statesman, 3 Mar. 2026

An effort to protect a social media marvel and architectural oddity on La Jolla’s Black’s Beach is underway. —Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1713, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for oddity

• commodity

Kids Definition

oddity

noun

odd·​i·​ty ˈäd-ət-ē 

plural oddities

1

: something odd

2

: the quality or state of being odd