alphabet soup

noun

: a hodgepodge especially of initials (as of the names of organizations)

Synonyms

• agglomerate
• agglomeration
• assortment
• botch
• clutter
• collage
• crazy quilt
• farrago
• gallimaufry
• grab bag
• gumbo
• hash
• hodgepodge
• hotchpotch
• jambalaya
• jumble
• jungle
• litter
• macédoine
• medley
• mélange
• menagerie
• miscellanea
• miscellany
• mishmash
• mixed bag
• montage
• motley
• muddle
• olio
• olla podrida
• omnium-gatherum
• pastiche
• patchwork
• patchwork quilt
• potpourri
• ragbag
• ragout
• rummage
• salad
• salmagundi
• scramble
• shuffle
• smorgasbord
• stew
• tumble
• variety
• welter

Examples of alphabet soup in a Sentence

a bowl of alphabet soup

the alphabet soup of designer drugs that were available to patrons of the once-notorious disco

Recent Examples on the Web

The key is for business leaders to look beyond the buzzwords and the alphabet soup of model types to realize the use cases of AI. —Toni Pisano, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025

Coming to the United States for anything but tourism usually means wading through an alphabet soup of visa types – more than two dozen for people who do not intend to become permanent residents of the US. —Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2025

Congress may have viewed them as such—SEC or the FCC, CFPB, the whole alphabet soup—but that is not something that the Constitution understands. —Ars Technica, 19 Feb. 2025

For years, industry has complained about the alphabet soup of agencies, which often compete with one another. —Andrew Ross Sorkin, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1884, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for alphabet soup

• coop
• coupe
• croup
• droop
• drupe
• dupe
• group
• hoop
• loop
• lupe
• oop
• poop