grab bag

noun

1
: a receptacle (such as a bag) containing small articles which are to be drawn (as at a party or fair) without being seen
2
: a miscellaneous collection : potpourri

Example Sentences

Congress has proposed a grab bag of tax cuts. the festival featured a grab bag of independent films from widely disparate genres
Recent Examples on the Web Though negotiators by now had hoped to see a draft of the COP27 cover decision - setting clear goals for the meeting and resolving its thorniest debates - the document was more of a grab bag, listing almost every proposal countries have offered in recent days. Sarah Kaplan, Evan Halper And Timothy Puko, Anchorage Daily News, 17 Nov. 2022 This is largely due to lyrics that are equal parts raunch, taunt and punchline — a postmodern grab bag of references to basketball, pro wrestling, childhood nostalgia and the type of illicit gains made by pilfering credit card numbers off the dark Web. Chris Kelly, Washington Post, 25 Jan. 2023 The grab bag of training tools is great. Basem Wasef, Robb Report, 25 Feb. 2022 So here are a grab bag of lessons. Ryan Cooper, The Week, 10 Feb. 2022 Temu sells a grab bag of low-cost products that are sometimes practical and sometimes bizarre. Shira Ovide, Washington Post, 14 Feb. 2023 The seven dancers, costumed in mostly dull, arbitrary layers of garments, perform a grab bag of isolated dance steps and clustered moves, some with awkward acrobatic maneuvering of would-be eye-catching but essentially miscellaneous purpose. Robert Greskovic, WSJ, 18 Aug. 2022 Tesla’s latest recall is sweeping, with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration saying the Full Self-Driving software can break local traffic laws and act in a way the driver doesn’t expect in a grab bag of road situations. WIRED, 16 Feb. 2023 Yet, the political power of opposition to the critical race theory — which became a grab bag for conservative complaints about the teaching of American history and racial inequality — largely petered out by last year’s midterm general elections. Trip Gabriel, New York Times, 6 Feb. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'grab bag.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1855, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of grab bag was in 1855

Dictionary Entries Near grab bag

Cite this Entry

“Grab bag.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grab%20bag. Accessed 28 May. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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