odds and ends

plural noun

Synonyms of odds and endsnext
1
a
: miscellaneous articles
b
: miscellaneous small matters (as of business) to be attended to
2
: miscellaneous remnants or leftovers
odds and ends of food

Synonyms of odds and ends

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Examples of odds and ends in a Sentence

she's always searching among the odds and ends in the drawer for some tool that she needs almost all of the piece of leather will be needed for upholstering the chair, so just throw away any odds and ends
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Especially once they’re pushed out of their family home and must make do in a cottage in Devonshire, Snell wanted to show how the girls borrow from each other, adapt odds and ends, and don’t always put outfits together to match. — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 16 Oct. 2026 Once a week, Miller bakes a potato and gives the odds and ends in her refrigerator somewhere to go. — Angela Haupt, Time, 16 Oct. 2026 Initially, Hazara purchased the trash from a market—called Bush Bazaar—that the American troops had set up to sell odds and ends. — Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 24 Sep. 2026 Last summer, my mother gave me a box of old jewelry, odds and ends. — Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 2 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for odds and ends

Word History

First Known Use

1761, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of odds and ends was in 1761

Rhymes for odds and ends

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Browse Nearby Words

odds
odds and ends
odds and sods
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Cite this Entry

“Odds and ends.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/odds%20and%20ends. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Kids Definition

odds and ends

plural noun
: miscellaneous articles, leftovers, or things to do
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