odds and ends

noun

Miscellaneous things; oddments

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

Similar
odds and sodsoddmentsmelangefarragoragbagmishmashmingle-manglehodgepodge
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Meanings

nounodds and ends pl (plural only)
  1. idiomaticpluralplural onlyMiscellaneous things; oddments

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

    1 more example

    I scraped my palette, stuck my brushes in a bowl of black soap, and I strolled into the smoking-room. I really believe that, excepting Geneviève's apartments, no room in the house was so free from the perfume of tobacco as this one. It was a queer chaos of odds and ends hung with threadbare tapestry.

    1895, Robert W. Chambers, chapter 2, in The King in Yellow, "The Mask"

    Synonyms: odds and sods

Synonyms & antonyms

nounMiscellaneous things; oddments

Similar
odds and sods

More synonyms by meaning

nouna motley assortment of things

Similar
oddmentsmelangefarragoragbagmishmashmingle-manglehodgepodgehotchpotchgallimaufryomnium-gatherum
Broader
assortmentmixturemixed bag
Also see
bits and bobsdribs and drabsfarragoflotsam and jetsamgallimaufryhodgepodgehotchpotchmelangemingle-manglemishmashoddmentoddmentsodds and sodsomnium-gatherumragbag

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

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

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian туй-онуй
  • туй-онуй (tuj-onuj)miscellaneous things
Chinese Mandarin 瑣碎的事 /琐碎的事
  • 瑣碎的事 /琐碎的事miscellaneous things
Dutch brokstukken, van alles en nog wat
  • brokstukkenmiscellaneous things
  • van alles en nog watmiscellaneous things
Finnish kama, sälä
  • kamamiscellaneous things
  • sälämiscellaneous things
French bric-à-brac
  • bric-à-bracmiscellaneous things
German Krimskrams
  • Krimskramsmiscellaneous things
Hungarian ez-az, limlom
  • ez-azmiscellaneous things
  • limlommiscellaneous things
  • apróságokmiscellaneous things
Irish giúirléidí
  • giúirléidímiscellaneous things
Italian cianfrusaglie
  • cianfrusagliemiscellaneous things
Latin quisquilia
  • quisquiliamiscellaneous things
Norwegian ting og tang
  • ting og tangmiscellaneous things
Persian هنزر پنزر
  • هنزر پنزر (henzer-penzer)miscellaneous things
Polish bambetle, pierdółki
  • bambetlemiscellaneous things
  • pierdółkimiscellaneous things
  • drobiazgimiscellaneous things
  • bibelotymiscellaneous things
Portuguese miudezas
  • miudezasmiscellaneous things
Russian вся́кая вся́чина
  • вся́кая вся́чина (vsjákaja vsjáčina)miscellaneous things
Scottish Gaelic criomagan
  • criomaganmiscellaneous things
Spanish retazos, trastos
  • retazosmiscellaneous things
  • trastosmiscellaneous things
  • cabos sueltosmiscellaneous things
Swedish smått och gott
  • smått och gottmiscellaneous things
Cite this entry
APA

odds and ends. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/odds%20and%20ends

MLA

“odds and ends.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/odds%20and%20ends. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “odds and ends,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/odds%20and%20ends.

Source: odds and ends on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.