student asking question

What does "odds against someone" mean?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

To have the "odds against someone" or something means they are unlikely to succeed because their chances are slim. "Against the odds" means that despite the chances being slim of someone succeeding, they defeated the odds and managed to succeed anyways. Ex: He has an injured ankle. The odds are against him in the race. Ex: He won the competition against the odds!

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