long odds

noun

: a poor chance of winning
The team has made some major improvements, but they still face long odds.

Examples of long odds in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Democrats currently hold a narrow 51-seat majority in the Senate but are facing long odds to keep it, with Cook Political Report rating one currently Democratic seat as solid for Republicans and a three others as toss-ups. Tommy Barone, ABC News, 21 June 2024 Why this Farm Bill faces long odds Despite the monumental effort from the pork lobby and its allies, the odds of this year’s Farm Bill nullifying Prop 12 appear slim. Marina Bolotnikova, Vox, 4 June 2024 Hostage crisis poses dilemma for Israel and offers a path to victory for Hamas Trump, Biden ride Super Tuesday wins to 2024 rematch few want Former baseball star Garvey faces Democratic Rep. Schiff, and long odds, for California Senate seat Affordable housing or local control and less density? Hartford Courant, 6 Mar. 2024 But Haley faces extremely long odds of pulling off an upset of Trump as the MAGA leader hopes to effectively wrap up the GOP nomination with a big win. Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 23 Jan. 2024 Still, nothing in this book ultimately challenges the prevailing view that the United States and its South Vietnamese allies always faced very long odds in this war. Fredrik Logevall, Foreign Affairs, 24 Oct. 2012 Historically, the Derby winner represents well in the Preakness, even when winning the Derby at long odds. Liam Durbin, Baltimore Sun, 17 May 2024 Organized labor still faces especially long odds in the South, with many states enforcing right to work laws, and governors who want to keep unions out. 2. NPR, 2 May 2024 The proposal faces long odds in a Legislature controlled by a Democratic super-majority. Andrew Sheeler, Sacramento Bee, 2 May 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'long odds.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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Cite this Entry

“Long odds.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/long%20odds. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.

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