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

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

Representing an alphabet soup of agencies with various levels of tenure, each worker is paired up and dispatched to a Senator's office to share their stories. —Nikole Killion, CBS News, 25 Feb. 2025

Managing an outbreak requires coordination across an alphabet soup of agencies and programs; an EIS fellow may have investigated the first COVID case, but that of course didn’t stop the pandemic from happening. —Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 20 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