Synonyms

out of the ordinary

Idioms

Unusual, uncommon, exceptional, as in The venison they served was certainly out of the ordinary. This expression sometimes, but not always, indicates that something is better than the usual. However, the negative version, nothing out of the ordinary, usually indicates that something is not special or outstanding, as in It was an interesting lecture, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

This behavior was quite out of the ordinary.

From Literature

A 10% drop isn’t anything out of the ordinary for AppLovin, which has been one of the most volatile large-cap stocks on the market in recent months.

From Barron's

The number of cases seen in the area is not out of the ordinary for such outbreaks, which have been occurring reasonably frequently since late 2023.

From BBC

Well, the two of us walked and climbed and searched and explored but we didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

From Literature

It would be out of the ordinary if the heat lingered for more than a few days, she said, but the forecast is showing considerable cooling by Friday.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023