beat the odds
idiom
: to succeed despite not having a good chance of succeeding
Most new restaurants fail, but this one somehow managed to beat the odds.
Examples of beat the odds in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Two winners beat the odds to win the massive Powerball jackpot.
—
Rebecca Morin, USA Today, 8 Sep. 2025
But there is good news – some industries consistently beat the odds with failure rates being lower than the average.
—Melissa Houston, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Elon Musk’s private space company seems to beat the odds and constantly proves the naysayers wrong.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 11 Aug. 2025
An undrafted free agent, Braman beat the odds and made it to the NFL, a conspicuous figure on the field with his flowing hair and his dedication to the game.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, People.com, 18 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for beat the odds
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Rebecca Morin, USA Today, 8 Sep. 2025
But there is good news – some industries consistently beat the odds with failure rates being lower than the average.
—Melissa Houston, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Elon Musk’s private space company seems to beat the odds and constantly proves the naysayers wrong.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 11 Aug. 2025
An undrafted free agent, Braman beat the odds and made it to the NFL, a conspicuous figure on the field with his flowing hair and his dedication to the game.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, People.com, 18 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for beat the odds
Cite this Entry
“Beat the odds.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beat%20the%20odds. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share