against all odds

prep_phrase

"against-all-odds" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“against all odds” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a prep_phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
16
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Despite seemingly insurmountable opposition or probability.

Corpus desk

Index EN-against-all-odds · against all odds · English

against all odds · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 16 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "A" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for against all odds
PropertyValue
Headwordagainst all odds
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechPrep_phrase
Letters16
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “against all odds” in English

against all oddsfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

against all odds is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aprep_phrase. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Despite seemingly insurmountable opposition or probability.".

against all odds doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct English form is against all odds, spelled A-G-A-I-N-S-T- -A-L-L- -O-D-D-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Despite seemingly insurmountable opposition or probability.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how against all odds appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Against all odds, the inexperienced new player won the tournament.
  2. But, against all the odds, one company is still alive and most definitely kicking.

Synonyms

against all expectationscontrary to all expectations

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "against all odds"?
"against all odds" is spelled A-G-A-I-N-S-T- -A-L-L- -O-D-D-S.
What does "against all odds" mean?
As a prep_phrase, "against all odds" means: Despite seemingly insurmountable opposition or probability.
What language does "against all odds" come from?
"against all odds" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list