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)

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

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

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

Dinner menu items include chili cheese fries, chicken fingers, cheese burgers, wings adjacent to gumbo, a veggie quesadilla, Cajun chicken pasta, a gyro sandwich and Cajun salmon. —Mari Pressley, Charlotte Observer, 8 May 2025

Jazz Fest will host 65 vendors that represent the vast culinary range of New Orleans, a city known for savory (and sweet) treats like crawfish, beignets, gumbo and jambalaya. —Rachel Desantis, People.com, 8 Apr. 2025

Start with them raw on the half shell or baked with buttery garlic breadcrumbs, and don’t miss the Mobile Bay gumbo. originaloysterhouse.com; multiple locations 4. —Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 11 Mar. 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