oddball

/ˈɑːdˌbɔl/

//ˈɑːdˌbɔl// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"oddball" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“oddball” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #39,000. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#39,000
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords
7
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An eccentric or unusual person.

Corpus desk

Index EN-oddball · oddball · English

oddball · rank #39,000 · 7 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #39,000
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH obelisk

Nearest frequency peer: obelisk (-1 rank slots)

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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “oddball”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “oddball” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for oddball
PropertyValue
Headwordoddball
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɑːdˌbɔl/
Letters7
Frequency rank#39,000
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “oddball”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).oddballlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “obelisk” (#38,999), “offload” (#39,001), “Obamas” (#38,998). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “oddball” is #39,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around oddball (IPA /ˈɑːdˌbɔl/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #39,000 among 1,431 “O” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for oddball, with forms such as "dodball", "odball", and "odbdall". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: Compound of odd + ball. First used in late 1930s, describing an extra ball played as a bonus in pin-ball type games. Well-attested since the 1940s, with the adjective appearing earlier than the noun. The correct English form is oddball, spelled O-D-D-B-A-L-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    An eccentric or unusual person.
  2. 2
    A deviant stimulus that appears among repetitive stimuli during an experiment, to trigger an event-related potential in the participant.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Miss Quinn thought that Oswald spoke Russian well in view of his lack of formal training; she found the evening uninteresting. Donovan, with whom she had a date later, testified that she told him that Oswald was “kind of an oddball.”
  2. "She's different, mister. A real oddball, if you know what I mean. But your little girl would love her. All kids love the Doll Lady."

Etymology

Compound of odd + ball. First used in late 1930s, describing an extra ball played as a bonus in pin-ball type games. Well-attested since the 1940s, with the adjective appearing earlier than the noun.

Synonyms

kookodd duckstrange fishqueer fishweirdostrange person

This word in other languages

estrafalario(Español)excentrique(Français)Sonderling(Deutsch)excêntrico(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • dodball
  • odball
  • odbdall
  • oddabll
  • oddbal
  • oddbball
  • oddblal

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of oddball - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

dodball2odball1odbdall2oddabll2oddbal1oddbball1oddblal2
Edit distance from "oddball"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "oddball"?
"oddball" is spelled O-D-D-B-A-L-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɑːdˌbɔl/.
What does "oddball" mean?
As a noun, "oddball" means: An eccentric or unusual person.
What are common misspellings of "oddball"?
Common misspellings include "dodball", "odball", "odbdall", "oddabll", "oddbal". The correct spelling is "oddball".
How do you pronounce "oddball"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "oddball" is /ˈɑːdˌbɔl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "oddball"?
Compound of odd + ball. First used in late 1930s, describing an extra ball played as a bonus in pin-ball type games. Well-attested since the 1940s, with the adjective appearing earlier than the noun. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "oddball", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

obelisk#38,999offload#39,001outcrop#39,006panning#39,015

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Oxfam7 variantsNajib7 variantsparka7 variantspeddle7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list