at odds meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

at odds

prep_phrase

UK /ət‿ˈɒdz/ · US /ət‿ˈɑdz/

Etymology From at + odds (“(obsolete) dissimilarity; inequality”).

Idiomatic In disagreement; conflicting.

The witness’s statement seems to be at odds with the evidence—not a good sign for the prosecutor.
By day and night he vvrongs me, / Euery houre he flaſhes into one groſſe crime or other / That ſets vs all at ods, ile not indure it, […]c. 1603–1606 (date written), [William Shakespeare], […] His True Chronicle Historie of the Life and Death of King Lear and His Three Daughters. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Nathaniel Butter, […], published 1608, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:

4 more examples

[I] began to be at odds vvith myſelf vvhether to be glad or ſorry; […]1722 (indicated as 1721), [Daniel Defoe], The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders, &c. […], London: […] W[illiam Rufus] Chetwood, […]; and T. Edling, […], published 1722, →OCLC, page 186:
In the passage they encountered Mr. Mould the undertaker: a little elderly gentleman, bald, and in a suit of black; with a note-book in his hand, a massive gold watch-chain dangling from his fob, and a face in which a queer attempt at melancholy was at odds with a smirk of satisfaction; […]1842 December – 1844 July, Charles Dickens, “The Reader is Brought into Communication with Some Professional Persons, and Sheds a Tear over the Filial Piety of Good Mr. Jonas”, in The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1844, →OCLC, page 237:
At Pleasant Valley sheepmen and cattlemen were at odds over the grazing. Sooner or later they would clash.1940, Zane Grey, chapter 1, in 30,000 on the Hoof, Roslyn, N.Y.: Walter J. Black, →OCLC, page 5:
Evidence now proves that the Primus and the Archon are at odds. Investigations show that the Primus disapproves of the Archon's single-minded interest in Remnant technology, believing it to be a distraction from the kett's attempts to conquer Heleus.2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Redwood City, Calif.: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Kett: Primus Codex entry: