catchall

play

noun, often attributive catch·all \ˈkach-ˌȯl, ˈkech-\

Definition of catchall

: something that holds or includes odds and ends or a wide variety of things a catchall tray dyspepsia is a catchall term for stomach discomfort

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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 of catchall from the Web

LeEco, a catchall name for a variety of businesses controlled by the internet tycoon Jia Yueting, poses little threat by itself to China’s financial system.

— ryan mcmorrow, New York Times, "Here’s How a Chinese Tech Firm Borrowed $2.1 Billion in a Hurry", 3 June 2017
Beyond not trying to be a catchall company, Netflix views its platform as ideal for binge watching on-demand material.

— jennifer van grove, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Netflix CEO: Amazon is Walmart, we're Starbucks", 31 May 2017
Solar flares are semi-famous as a catchall technology excuse (Why’s the network down?

— david becker, WIRED, "Solar Flares Interrupt Calls", 9 July 2007

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'catchall'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.