oddity

Everyday

1. A strange or unusual person, thing or event. tree →
2. Being strange or unusual (uncountable). tree →

In the lessons

Used in stories, science and everyday talk: museums show oddities; nature has oddities like the platypus, a mammal that lays eggs. Phrases: "a bit of an oddity", "an oddity of nature".

Examples

• The platypus is an oddity: a mammal that lays eggs. tree →
• The shop sold oddities like two-headed toy dragons. tree →
• It was an oddity that the clock ran backwards. tree →
• Among the plain houses, the purple one was an oddity. tree →
• In a class of football fans, the boy who loved opera was an oddity. tree →
• The oddity of the noise made us look around. tree →
• The museum's cabinet of oddities was my favourite room. tree →

Note

Plural "oddities". From "odd" (strange, and also not even). Odd numbers (1, 3, 5) have nothing to do with oddities, though they share the word "odd".