gumbo

1 of 2

noun (1)

gum·​bo ˈgəm-(ˌ)bō 

plural gumbos

1

: a soup thickened with okra pods or filé and containing meat or seafoods and usually vegetables

2

: okra sense 1

3

a

: any of various fine-grained silty soils especially of the central U.S. that when wet become impervious and soapy or waxy and very sticky

b

: a heavy sticky mud

4

: mixture, mélange

gumbo adjective

gumbo

2 of 2

noun (2)

variants or Gumbo

: creole sense 4a(1)

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• medley
• variety
• jumble
• assortment
• collage
• jambalaya
• stew
• salad

Examples of gumbo in a Sentence

Noun (1)

drew his artistic inspiration from the city's rich gumbo of musical styles

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

As for Earl’s Provisions, the pair plans to offer some Earl’s favorites to take home: chowder, gumbo, salads and more. —Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 23 May 2025

When ordering my chicken and sausage gumbo from the walk-up window, the owner asked me rice or potato salad? —Cameron Beall, Southern Living, 9 June 2025

Next week, Friendship moves to a wide release across the country and will hopefully continue to cause some cosmic gumbo at the box office. —Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 17 May 2025

The event will be held June 14 and 15 at Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Blvd., and will feature thousands of pounds of crawfish flown in from Louisiana alongside Southern staples like gumbo, frog legs, beignets and alligator bites. —Marcus D. Smith, Sacbee.com, 11 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

American French gombo, of Bantu origin; akin to Umbundu ochinggômbo okra

Noun (2)

American French gombo, perhaps from Kongo nkômbô runaway slave

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1805, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1838, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing gumbo

• gumbo-limbo

Rhymes for gumbo

• jumbo
• columbo

Kids Definition

gumbo

noun

gum·​bo

ˈgəm-bō

plural gumbos

1

a

: okra

b

: a soup thickened with okra pods

2

: any of various silty soils that become very sticky when wet