odds-onn.adj.adv.
/ˌɒdzˈɒn/, U.S. /ˈɑdzˈɑn/ A. n.
Odds of winning which are evens or less; (also, occasionally) an odds-on favourite.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > betting > [noun] > odds > less than 1:1
odds-on1887
1887 W. B. Gilpin Four Hunting Stories vi. 68 They refused to lay him except at odds on.
1923 P. G. Wodehouse Inimitable Jeeves xiii. 153 ‘Something's gone wrong with the favourite.’ ‘Which is the favourite, sir?’ ‘Mr. Heppenstall. He's gone to odds on.’
1941 S. J. Baker Pop. Dict. Austral. Slang 50 An odds-on, an odds-on favourite.
1993 Belfast Tel. (BNC) May It worries me to death bringing her to the races at long odds-on, but she is a great filly.
B. adj.
Esp. of a horse: rated at evens or less to win. Also figurative and in extended use: very likely to succeed or happen; probable.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > probability, likelihood > [adjective] > on which odds are laid
odds-on1888
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > betting > [adjective] > on which bets are laid
wagered1876
odds-on1888
1888 Sporting Times 26 May 9/4 An ‘odds on’ favourite for the Derby.
1890 Daily News 10 Dec. 3/8 The proceedings were brought to a conclusion by the defeat of an odds-on fancy, Peerage.
1911 N.Z. Truth 13 May 3 Roberts..got a bone in his cheek injured, and it is..odds on that he joins the ‘bankers’ for a bit.
1926 E. Wallace More Educated Evans x. 222 Six successive odds-on chances.
1945 J. B. Blair in Coast to Coast 1944 136 It seemed odds on that Wang would stop a bullet.
1962 D. Francis Dead Cert i. 7 Admiral, the odds-on certainty who had lost his first race for two years.
1972 Guardian 5 Dec. 13/4 In one area near Poona there have been 22 drought years in the past 30... There, as in other places, it is a two to one odds-on probability.
1995 Thunder Bay: 25 Great Years 22/2 They won the first CHL title..and last year..won the title again and were odds-on favorites to repeat this season.
2001 Times 28 Feb. 21/1 It seemed odds-on that he was strumming the offstage harp himself, such is the variety of his accomplishments.
C. adv.
As a sentence adverb: it is likely; probably.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > probability, likelihood > [adverb]
welleOE
lightly1395
likely1395
likinglyc1395
by (also of) likeliheadc1405
by (also of) likelinessc1405
by all (also most) likelihood1427
provably1460
of (all) likelihood1491
belike?1531
like1548
belikelya1551
in (all) likelihood1570
probably1600
by (also in) probabilitya1602
in (also by) all probability1617
presumably1658
prob.1730
nigh hand1848
predictably1914
prolly1922
odds-on1976
1976 H. Tracy Death in Reserve xix. 147 ‘Odds on they've gone to France.’ said Phoenix. ‘He'd have enough fuel.’
1996 Maclean's 18 Mar. 13/1 Odds on, one knows who Yasser Arafat is.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
<
n.adj.adv.1887