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

Eczema is a catchall term for a number of chronic conditions (the most common being atopic dermatitis) that can make skin inflamed, discolored, dry, and itchy. —Emily Kay Votruba, EverydayHealth.com, 13 Nov. 2025

These catchall labels cover a wide range of issues; some reports could describe storm drain problems while others could document severe flooding of over 20 inches inside homes. —Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 12 Nov. 2025

Indeed, this is not likely to become a catchall for books and ephemera. —Kathryn O’Shea-Evans, Robb Report, 9 Nov. 2025

James Austin Johnson’s catchall monologues have become an ideal format for the recent onslaught of political news. —Erik Adams, The Atlantic, 9 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1827, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for catchall

• aldol
• armhole
• atoll
• awol
• backhaul
• banal
• baseball
• befall
• cabal
• cecal
• centrale
• downfall

Kids Definition

catchall

noun

catch·​all ˈkach-ˌȯl 

ˈkech-

: something to hold a variety of odds and ends