catchall

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

Updated on: 13 May 2018

: 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

Facts: Braun’s ad cites his opponents’ votes in 2015 for a catchall spending bill that funded much of the government through September 2016.

— maureen groppe, Indianapolis Star, "Indiana Senate race: Here's what's true and what's not in the nation's nastiest primary," 4 May 2018
Serendipitously, several retailers are also running major spring sales right now, including Anthropologie’s home department, which is offering the cutie catchall pictured above for less than $10.

— emily heller, Curbed, "The best spring home sales to shop right now," 4 May 2018
The touchscreen generation is a catchall term encompassing mostly toddlers and tykes, though an exception should be made for hockey’s band of tech-savvy bench bosses.

— alex prewitt, SI.com, "For NHL Teams and Players, iPads Have Become an Important Part of the Game," 17 Apr. 2018
However, according to the council’s own method, the area does not merit having separate, higher salary rates than are paid there now as part of the catchall locality.

— eric yoder, Washington Post, "Federal employees lag private sector workers in salaries by 32 percent on average, report says," 11 Apr. 2018
Immigration reform is a catchall term for changes or attempts to change laws governing immigrants and immigration.

— NBC News, "What is immigration reform?," 9 Apr. 2018
Immunotherapy is a catchall term for treatments that trigger the body’s immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells.

— lindsay gellman, Longreads, "The Last Resort," 22 Mar. 2018
The immigration talks were part of larger negotiations on a $1.3 trillion catchall spending bill, which would have to pass Congress by midnight Friday to avert another government shutdown.

— Fox News, "FOX NEWS FIRST: Search for alleged Texas serial bomber intensifies; Uber braces for charges in deadly crash," 20 Mar. 2018
This week, the Senate is considering a measure to ease banking regulations, and next week senators will be working against a deadline to pass a catchall spending measure to fund the government; the current spending bill expires on March 23.

— michael d. shear and sheryl gay stolberg, New York Times, "Conceding to N.R.A., Trump Abandons Brief Gun Control Promise," 12 Mar. 2018

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.

First Known Use of catchall

1838

in the meaning defined above

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CATCHALL Defined for English Language Learners

catchall

noun

: something that holds or includes many different things

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