odds
/ɒdz/ noun [plural]Definition
› the odds of something happening are how probable it is that it will happen: the odds are against sth At the moment it seems the odds are against a deal.the odds are on sth/in sth's favour They are so evenly matched, the odds are on a draw.the odds are good/strong The odds are good that the country's transformation will proceed smoothly.good/better odds People retiring today have better odds than ever of living a long healthy life. the odds are slim/long Given the poor economic climate, the odds of success are slim.
› how probable something is, expressed as a pair of numbers or a percentage, for example when betting : good/bad odds We think 6 to 2 are good odds.the odds are ... against/in favour of sth The odds are 100-1 against him getting the job.the odds of sth happening For taxpayers with incomes above $100,000 the odds of being audited in 2006 were 1 in 59.
be at odds (with sb/sth) › to disagree with someone: She and her boss are at odds over the issue of training. On this issue, Britain is at odds with the rest of the EU. › if two things are at odds, they are very different and cannot both be correct: These findings are at odds with our research. Management's and shareholders' interests seem to be at odds.
against the odds/against all odds › used to say that someone has achieved something or succeeded despite this being very unlikely: Against all odds, she won the case.
the odds are against sb/in sb's favour › someone is unlikely/likely to succeed: In a case like this, the odds are against the defendant.
over the odds UK informal › more than something is really worth: They paid way over the odds for their new offices.
(Definition of odds noun from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary
© Cambridge University Press)
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