Definition of oddity
oddities
1 : an odd person, thing, event, or trait
2 : the quality or state of being odd
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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 of oddity from the Web
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Dill reinvigorated giant-pumpkin competitions in 1978 by breaking a 75-year-old record set in 1903 by William Warnock, whose 403-pound oddity was then displayed at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis.
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Its innovations and quirks have been too widely emulated, its oddities long since absorbed.
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Explore the world's oddities every week with Ken Jennings, and check out his book Maphead for more geography trivia.
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The showrunners are dedicated to Gaiman's celebrated novel, in both the oddity of the story and the complexity of its characters.
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The New York Times describes this as an oddity, but that attitude plays well with his constituents in Louisiana, where local politics often trumps what's happening nationally.
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John Reed, who lives in California, has created such oddities as an automatic cat-petting machine, a sewing-machine doorbell, and a dentist’s chair-cappuccino maker.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'oddity'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
1713
First Known Use of oddity
1713
ODDITY Defined for English Language Learners
oddity
playDefinition of oddity for English Language Learners
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: a strange or unusual person or thing
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: the quality or state of being strange or unusual
ODDITY Defined for Kids
oddity
playDefinition of oddity for Students
oddities
1 : something strange The zoo has oddities such as platypuses.
2 : the quality or state of being strange We laughed at the oddity of the situation.
Learn More about oddity
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for oddity Spanish Central: Translation of oddity Nglish: Translation of oddity for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of oddity for Arabic speakers
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