noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
insuperable odds
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As usual, the hero was facing insuperable odds .
odds and ends
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He didn’t keep much in his desk – just a few odds and ends.
overwhelming odds
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The British Air Force succeeded despite overwhelming odds against them.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
enormous
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Sometimes overcoming enormous odds , mostly because of racial prejudice, black athletes changed the sporting landscape in the United States.
great
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But there is always real satisfaction in a fight against great odds .
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Against great odds , Truman went on to defeat Republican Thomas Dewey.
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That the work of many of them is first class is without question, but it is an achievement against great odds .
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Victory today complete and against great odds .
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Yet here again the gamble is great and the odds on success little better than even.
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Hence 60 years on the name Dunkirk still evokes images of triumph in the face of great odds .
impossible
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A horrible series of futile uprisings against impossible odds and always ending in butchery and defeat for the rebels.
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They promise their soldiers a terrible struggle against almost impossible odds .
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A heroic stand against impossible odds was always a possibility.
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He suddenly felt he was facing impossible odds .
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But along the way most activists realized the futility of trying to struggle with no funds and impossible odds .
long
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Highbrook will be at longer odds than she should be as a result of her defeat last time out at Newmarket.
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Even with the delay, Lee now faces long odds .
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Talbot would have taken long odds that he was cold sober.
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Has slipped down the weights and could surprise at long odds here.
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Exactly thirty years after completing their only Wembley triumph, Leigh are at long odds to go all the way in 2001.
short
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Of those commonly identified as potential contenders, he commands some of the shortest odds .
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But they also know that time is short and the odds against them.
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Newcastle were actually shorter odds than Leeds at the start of the season, which was equally ridiculous.
well
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He says he had a fifty-fifty chance of surviving the operation but it was better than no odds at all.
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But the business is fighting back, revamping betting shops, simplifying the pools coupons and advertising better odds .
■ NOUN
ratio
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Figure 2 shows the odds ratios over 18 months for all trials with 95% confidence limits.
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Relative risks were estimated as matched odds ratios by conditional maximum likelihood methods.
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The significant difference observed among men was consistent and showed rather similar odds ratios throughout the study period.
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Similarly, increased odds ratios were found for different age strata.
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The only other large studies with controls examined hip fractures and rheumatoid arthritis and found odds ratios of 1.5 and 2.1.
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We found no difference in the values of odds ratio or association.
■ VERB
battle
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She had battled against all the odds to give that girl everything she could possibly want.
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They were battling against the odds because they didn't appear to have the right equipment.
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But she had been battling against these odds for five hours, so perhaps her judgement was a little warped.
beat
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After beating incredible odds to prove himself a classroom genius, Steven has been cruelly snubbed by prospective employers.
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But she appears to have beaten the odds and is breathing normally.
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She believed she could beat the odds .
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You beat those odds and you felt you deserved some relief.
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You have to wonder how they manage to beat the odds and keep the species going.
calculate
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An actuary, assuming no casual connection, might calculate the odds against such a coincidence.
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Lupo said oddsmakers use theoretical win percentages to calculate the odds , as they would on a sporting event.
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From the calculating of odds and strategies and tactics?
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Of course this could be a coincidence but we can calculate the odds against this.
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The business of lending money is like gambling-the creditors calculate the odds of the money being repaid.
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Now he merely appraised the situation, calculating the odds for life against death.
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Within minutes it was very strong and while my partner seconded I began calculating the odds of freezing to death.
defy
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In the event, the cyclist defied the odds and survived.
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That Jaime Guerrero is alive to attend the dinner probably defies the odds .
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This movie defied all the odds .
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The rally has defied all odds and logic with only two, short interruptions since it began its climb in August 1982.
end
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A horrible series of futile uprisings against impossible odds and always ending in butchery and defeat for the rebels.
face
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Even with the delay, Lee now faces long odds .
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He suddenly felt he was facing impossible odds .
find
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Unlike him I have always found the little odds and ends Sellotaped to the front cover both interesting and useful.
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But too often we find ourselves at odds with each other.
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Indeed, some of the individuals cited above would unquestionably find themselves at odds with certain of our conclusions.
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Living at such close quarters with them, Anne found herself at odds with the princesses.
improve
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Managers can improve the odds of a smooth relationship by screening potential partners for compatibility.
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If Galileo gets safely off the pad, that will improve the odds considerably.
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Frequent shopping also improves your odds of finding a bargain or an item you particularly need.
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But the parent can be helpful and can set the stage for improving the odds for success.
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At root, executive protection means improving your odds , taking matters into your own hands.
increase
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But ... Yeah, sometimes I question myself why am I increasing the odds .
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That, of course, would increase the odds that the gambling industry will emerge from the federal study without a scratch.
lay
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I'd lay odds your name is Mr J Spratt.
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Digges argued that the Watch was way off, as was the island, and offered to lay odds on the bet.
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I'd lay odds Zermatt is one of them.
offer
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Back at the Village he saw that Ladbroke's were offering odds of thirty to one against him.
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Digges argued that the Watch was way off, as was the island, and offered to lay odds on the bet.
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William Hill, a firm of bookmakers, offers odds on the most likely monarch in 2000.
overcome
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A day on Crow, then, offers little in the way of drama or danger or overcoming odds .
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Sometimes overcoming enormous odds , mostly because of racial prejudice, black athletes changed the sporting landscape in the United States.
overwhelm
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Against overwhelming odds , I surrendered myself and watched a glut of documentaries about the military hardware.
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Like his rebel ancestor, Buchanan is fighting a lost cause with prideful determination despite overwhelming odds .
pay
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They still expected to get cheap baked beans, but would pay over the odds for high-quality fresh food.
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It pays over the odds , and promotes rapidly too.
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You're not paying above the odds for the car, or the insurance premium for that matter.
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In the past Coleby had paid over the odds for things he wanted.
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We could have guessed that Abraham would end up paying over the odds , but not as much as this.
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The first, and most general, is the willingness of companies to pay over the odds when they acquire other companies.
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If the hon. Gentleman believes otherwise, he is inviting electricity consumers to pay over the odds for their electricity.
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But do they make us pay over the odds ?
put
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There are laughs to be had in putting James at odds with his own Americanness, and indeed his own prototypical modernity.
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While my first injury had been an occasion of oneness, the second put us at odds .
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But the role has put him at odds with the United States and stirred controversy in his own country.
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This attitude has put them at odds with some other groups.
reduce
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Enough like it could reduce the odds to those you observe.
seem
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Crucially, though, you can see intuitively that totipotency and differentiation seem to be at odds with each other.
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Price and the number purchased vary directly. and these real-world data seem to be at odds with the law of demand.
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David disliked this trait of Harriet's, a fatalism that seemed so at odds with the rest of her.
win
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Just when the game appeared to be won , the odds had lengthened.
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Politics, business, morality, and determination to win against the odds are popular subjects.
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What accounts for the Tories' success in winning again against the odds ?
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
defy logic/the odds etc
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In the event, the cyclist defied the odds and survived.
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That Jaime Guerrero is alive to attend the dinner probably defies the odds.
long odds
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Even with the delay, Lee now faces long odds.
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Exactly thirty years after completing their only Wembley triumph, Leigh are at long odds to go all the way in 2001.
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Has slipped down the weights and could surprise at long odds here.
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Highbrook will be at longer odds than she should be as a result of her defeat last time out at Newmarket.
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Talbot would have taken long odds that he was cold sober.
the dice/odds are loaded against sb/sth
the odds/cards are stacked against sb
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Although confident, we know the odds are stacked against the climbers.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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Assad overcame great odds to become commander of the air force.
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If you are male, the odds are about 1 in 12 of being colourblind.
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The odds against being killed in a plane crash are very high.
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The odds in favour of a win for the Russian team are around 10 to 1.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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Against all odds , he believed in himself.
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So why not tell the bank I have a $ 2 million asset and enhance the odds of my landing that loan?
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The odds against such a coincidence are unimaginably great but they are not incalculably great.
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The odds against them were overwhelming.
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The odds of being infected from a contaminated needle are 1 in 300, Gerberding said.
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The odds , in the short term anyway, favoured them.
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We applaud this kind of person when they climb mountains, cross deserts, sail oceans and survive against incredible odds .