catchall

noun

catch·​all ˈkach-ˌȯl 

ˈkech-

variants or catch-all

plural catchalls or catch-alls

: something designed or serving to catch, hold, account for, or include miscellaneous items or a wide variety of things

The secret weapon for battling kitchen clutter in this case is a simple tray. … The trays act as catch-alls or places to neatly store anything that gets left out.

—Marie Rossiter

After a period of rapidly rising consumer prices, "inflation" is a catchall for economic woes.

—Edward Lotterman

—often used before another noun

a catchall bin

… long COVID, the catchall term for the sometimes debilitating health problems that can last for months or years after even a mild case of COVID-19.

—Lauran Neergaard

Examples of catchall in a Sentence

They used the drawer as a catchall for kitchen items.

“The arts” is a catchall for a variety of activities from painting to music.

Recent Examples on the Web

For over a century, Rancho Los Amigos has been a catchall for the county’s poorest patients. —Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2024

Those products had been classified in a catchall group that included everything from hunting rifles to antique collectibles. —David Kocieniewski / Bloomberg, TIME, 26 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1827, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing catchall

• catchall term

Kids Definition

catchall

noun

catch·​all ˈkach-ˌȯl 

ˈkech-

: something to hold a variety of odds and ends