Phrase guide

odds and ends

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

Miscellaneous things; oddments

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, plural, plural-only

Examples

  • The garage was filled with a random assortment of odds and ends.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a motley assortment of things

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: oddments, melange, farrago, ragbag, mishmash, mingle-mangle, hodgepodge, hotchpotch, gallimaufry, omnium-gatherum

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: assortment, mixture, mixed bag, miscellany, miscellanea, variety, salmagundi, smorgasbord, potpourri, motley

History

Etymology

From a dialectal alteration of ords and ends (“points and endings" or "beginnings and ends”). More at ord, end.

Across languages

Translations

38 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: թաշախուստ (tʻašaxust) — miscellaneous things
  • Bashkir: ваҡ-төйәк (vaq-töyək) — miscellaneous things
  • Breton: bitrakerezh — miscellaneous things
  • Bulgarian: туй-онуй (tuj-onuj) — miscellaneous things
  • Burmese: တိုလီမိုလီ (tuilimuili) — miscellaneous things
  • Chinese Mandarin: 瑣碎的事 /琐碎的事 — miscellaneous things
  • Dutch: brokstukken — miscellaneous things
  • Dutch: van alles en nog wat — miscellaneous things
  • Finnish: kama — miscellaneous things
  • Finnish: sälä — miscellaneous things
  • French: bric-à-brac — miscellaneous things
  • Georgian: ნარჩენები (narčenebi) — miscellaneous things
  • Georgian: წვრილმანები (c̣vrilmanebi) — miscellaneous things
  • Georgian: ძველმანები (ʒvelmanebi) — miscellaneous things
  • German: Krimskrams — miscellaneous things
  • Haitian Creole: kenkay — miscellaneous things
  • Hungarian: ez-az — miscellaneous things
  • Hungarian: limlom — miscellaneous things
  • Hungarian: apróságok — miscellaneous things
  • Irish: giúirléidí — miscellaneous things
  • Italian: cianfrusaglie — miscellaneous things
  • Latin: quisquilia — miscellaneous things
  • Manx: fooillagh — miscellaneous things
  • Norwegian: ting og tang — miscellaneous things
  • Persian: هنزر پنزر (henzer-penzer) — miscellaneous things
  • Polish: bambetle — miscellaneous things
  • Polish: pierdółki — miscellaneous things
  • Polish: drobiazgi — miscellaneous things
  • Polish: bibeloty — miscellaneous things
  • Portuguese: miudezas — miscellaneous things
  • Russian: вся́кая вся́чина (vsjákaja vsjáčina) — miscellaneous things
  • Scottish Gaelic: criomagan — miscellaneous things
  • Serbo-Croatian: koještarija — miscellaneous things
  • Spanish: retazos — miscellaneous things
  • Spanish: trastos — miscellaneous things
  • Spanish: cabos sueltos — miscellaneous things
  • Swedish: smått och gott — miscellaneous things
  • Volapük: jodem — miscellaneous things