View synonyms for odds and ends

odds and ends

noun

miscellaneous items, matters, etc.
fragments; remnants; scraps; bits.

odds and ends

plural noun

miscellaneous items or articles

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Word History and Origins

Origin of odds and ends¹

First recorded in 1740–50

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Idioms and Phrases

Miscellaneous items, fragments and remnants, as in I've finished putting everything away, except for a few odds and ends . This expression may have originated as odd ends in the mid-1500s, meaning “short leftovers of some material” (such as lumber or cloth). It had acquired its present form and meaning by the mid-1700s.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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