2
general::
odds
adjectives
enormous/considerable/incredible odds
• He survived a night in the cold water against incredible odds.
great odds
(= a lot of difficulties )
• We must hope that, despite great odds, we can achieve a peaceful settlement.
impossible/overwhelming odds
(= making success seem extremely unlikely )
• They face impossible odds simply trying to get an education. • They face overwhelming odds in their struggle to preserve the park.
verbs
beat/overcome/defy the odds
(= succeed despite great difficulties )
• The baby, born sixteen weeks too early, defied the odds and is celebrating her first birthday.
battle/struggle against the odds
(= work hard despite great difficulties )
• The Coastguard was battling against the odds to keep the oil spill from reaching the shore.
phrases
against all odds
(= despite something seeming very unlikely )
• Against all odds, he recovered from his illness.
the odds are stacked against somebody
(= there are a lot of difficulties that may prevent someone’s success )
• They may be able to build a life for themselves, but the odds are stacked against them.
transnet.ir
3
general::
noun ADJ. considerable, great, high, impossible, insuperable, overwhelming, terrible She struggled against terrible odds to overcome her illness. | long, short Sometimes an outsider will win at long odds, but not often. The bookmakers are offering only short odds on the favourite. VERB + ODDS offer, quote | lay I'll lay odds we never see him again. | reduce, shorten | beat, defy, overcome She defied the odds to beat the clear favourite. ODDS + VERB shorten | lengthen PREP. against the ~ The film is a heart-warming tale of triumph against the odds. | ~ against The odds against their survival have lengthened. | ~ of They were offering odds of ten to one. | ~ on The odds on the outsider were 100?1. PHRASES against all (the) odds Against all the odds, we managed to get through to the final.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary