SINCE 1828

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

grab bag

noun

Definition of grab bag

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

See grab bag defined for English-language learners

Examples of grab bag in a Sentence

Congress has proposed a grab bag of tax cuts.
the festival featured a grab bag of independent films from widely disparate genres

First Known Use of grab bag

1855

grab bag Synonyms

Synonyms

agglomerate, agglomeration, alphabet soup, assortment, botch, clutter, collage, crazy quilt, farrago, gallimaufry, miscellany, gumbo, hash, hodgepodge, hotchpotch, jambalaya, jumble, jungle, litter, macédoine, medley, mélange, menagerie, miscellanea, 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

Related Words

detritus, notions, oddments, odds and ends, sundries; accumulation, aggregate, aggregation, conglomerate, conglomeration; catchall; admixture, alloy, amalgam, blend, combination, commixture, composite, compound, fusion, intermixture, mix-up; bollix, chaos, confusion, disarrangement, disarray, disorder, dog's breakfast [chiefly British], mess, morass, muddle, shambles; imbroglio, knot, snarl, tangle

GRAB BAG Defined for English Language Learners

grab bag

noun

Definition of grab bag for English Language Learners

: a bag that holds many small gifts and that you reach into in order to pull one out without knowing what it is
: a group or mixture of different things

Learn More about grab bag

See words that rhyme with grab bag Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for grab bag

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Examples: grab bag in a Sentence