by all odds
- idiom
- These Stone Walls, an extraordinary website that by all odds should not exist.
Examples
-
But by all odds, the dominating figure at Munich was the German host, Adolf Hitler.
Blog text (21) -
By all odds, it will remain so.
Academic text (2009) -
I spent some time last month poking around inside These Stone Walls, an extraordinary website that by all odds should not exist.
Blog text (32) -
He wrote: "It is by all odds the loftiest of cities."
Academic text (2006) -
By all odds, he will win the election this time.
-
It is by all odds the best movie I have ever seen.
-
The team will, by all odds, secure the championship this year.
Synonyms
Completely and without any doubt
To say that something is true without any doubt
Without any doubt
Without any doubt
Clearly and by a lot
Without any doubt
To be completely sure and have no doubt
In a clear way that leaves no doubt
In a strong, definite way that shows no doubt
In a clear way that leaves no doubt
Without any doubt
In a way that is certain
Without any doubt and with confidence
Completely sure with no chance of being wrong
In a way that is clearly true and cannot be doubted
Says that something is certainly true
Clearly and without doubt
Clearly true and cannot be denied
In a way that shows there is no doubt
It is clearly true and cannot be doubted
Clearly and without any doubt
Antonyms
How Certain
Surface Forms
Morphology
by + all + odds
The noun 'odds' refers to probability and 'by all' suggests 'according to all (considerations)', so a learner could plausibly infer a sense of high likelihood from the parts. However, the expression's idiomatic force ('without any doubt' or 'certainly') and its somewhat formal/less common usage are not fully predictable from the constituents alone, so a B1 learner would not reliably derive the exact meaning without exposure.
Etymology
By all odds may come from old betting: odds are the 'chances' of something happening. So if something is true by all odds, it would win every bet and means 'certain' or 'without any doubt'.