odds
The ratio of the probability of an event happening to that of it not happening.
Example
“I'd say the odds are strongly in favor of the sun rising tomorrow morning.”
Other meanings
The ratio of winnings to stake in betting situations.
“I looked at the odds given by all bookmakers.”
An advantage given to a weaker opponent in order to equalize the game when playing casually, usually by removing one of the stronger player's pieces or by giving the weaker player more time.
“She beat me with knight odds but lost with rook odds.”
Related words
- oddsboard
- oddsmaker
- oddsmaking
- oddsman
- oddswise
- at all odds
- by all odds
- against all odds
- at odds
- implied odds
- lay odds
- long odds
Example sentences
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “odds” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; example sentences are from Tatoeba, credited to their authors above, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.