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

• 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

Both Becker and Levitt noticed some other oddities in the initial DOJ request as well, including numerous typos. —Miles Parks, NPR, 11 June 2025

Yes, there are antiques and vintage here, but there are a lot of other vendors too, selling all sorts of random oddities that are not home goods. —Kelsey Glennon, Southern Living, 3 June 2025

Here is the oddity: Visa has a stock market value $726 billion, Mastercard is $527 billion, and American Express at $207 billion, while Capital One is only $125 billion. —Jim Cramer, CNBC, 21 May 2025

Cannabis laws are a patchwork of contradictions, quirks, and outright oddities. —Tribune Content Agency, Mercury News, 6 May 2025

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