medley

noun med·ley \ ˈmed-lē \

|Updated on: 9 Jul 2018

Examples: medley in a Sentence

Definition of medley

plural medleys

1 archaic : melee

2 : a diverse assortment or mixture; especially : hodgepodge

a medley of sounds

a medley of desserts

was arrested on a medley of charges

3 : a musical composition made up of a series of songs or short pieces

a medley of show tunes

See medley defined for English-language learners

See medley defined for kids

Examples of medley in a Sentence

a medley of show tunes
a medley of snack foods available on the buffet table

Recent Examples of medley from the Web

Lastly, Waltham Track Club won the youth sprint medley, coming across at 1:53.75.

— p.j. wright, BostonGlobe.com, "Gabriel Cline, Jada Solomon move on to Boost Boston Games 100-meter final," 19 May 2018
Chen finished ninth in the 200 freestyle (1:44.45) and joined with Brett Bell, Matt Ng and Oliver Brookbanks to place sixth in the 200 medley with a mark of 1:40.28.

— staff reports, latimes.com, "Sports Roundup: Flintridge Prep swimming posts positive results at CIF finals," 11 May 2018
Yet, Kearney also taps into a medley of rock offerings from the '90s, starting with a couple of alternative rock staples.

— shanté honeycutt, Billboard, "Takeover Tuesday: Mat Kearney Curates the Ultimate Playlist For '90s Music Kids," 1 May 2018
Juul is a brand of e-cigarette that's become wildly popular among high schoolers, with flavors such as fruit medley, cool mint and creme.

— josh hafner, USA TODAY, "Juul e-cigarettes are 'in' with today's teens. Here's how the FDA is cracking down," 25 Apr. 2018
The gold medal pair won the internet’s heart this year with a ravishing dance in the team competition to a dramatic medley from the Moulin Rouge movie, demonstrating serious chemistry.

— raisa bruner, Time, "Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir's Platonic Relationship Can't Stop the Internet From Celebrating Valentine's Day on Their Behalf," 14 Feb. 2018
The pair first performed their passionate Olympic routine, a medley from Moulin Rouge!

— tess kornfeld, Glamour, "These Canadian Ice Dancers Had to Tone Down Their Sexy Routine for the Olympics," 11 Feb. 2018
The Memorial girls medaled in all three relays, highlighted by silver in the medley from the team of Olivia Cone, Yasemin Bayanay, Hannah Kral and Gore.

— jack marrion, Houston Chronicle, "Memorial girls runner-up at 15-6A swim meet," 24 Jan. 2018
Nearly two decades later, owners and chefs Gayle Pirie and John Clark have penned their own cookbook, sharing their medley of delicious, if unexpected, dishes with grateful San Franciscans and the rest of the world.

— Sunset, "Bring Home the Magic of One of SF’s Best Restaurants," 22 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'medley.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of medley

Middle English medle, from Anglo-French medlee, from feminine of medlé, past participle of medler to mix — more at meddle

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

medley Synonyms

Synonyms

agglomerate, agglomeration, assortment, clutter, collage, grab bag, hash, hodgepodge, hotchpotch, jumble, litter, mélange, miscellany, mishmash, mixed bag, motley, muddle, olio, olla podrida, omnium-gatherum, patchwork, potpourri, ragbag, rummage, salmagundi, scramble, shuffle, smorgasbord, tumble, variety, welter;

admixture, alloy, amalgam, blend, combination, commixture, composite, compound, fusion, intermixture, mix-up;

mess, morass, shambles;

Other Music Terms

cacophony, chorister, concerto, counterpoint, madrigal, obbligato, presto, refrain, riff, segue

medley

adjective

Definition of medley

: mixed, motley

Recent Examples of medley from the Web

Spring Woods sends all six relays to regionals, led by the fifth-place medley boys team of Samuel Jennings, Hewry Schmidt, Jacob Jennings and Clayton Richard.

— jack marrion, Houston Chronicle, "Memorial girls runner-up at 15-6A swim meet," 24 Jan. 2018
Hunter will have back the GMC third team 200 medley team of Owen Pelzer, Kevin LaGrange, Jakob Eichhorn and Aidan Flanigan.

— scott springer, Cincinnati.com, "Preview: St. Xavier highlights talented pool of Cincinnati swimmers, divers," 8 Dec. 2017
In addition, Munoz was part of the winning 200 medley team (back-23.43), and 400 free relay team third leg (45.29).

— staff report, Orange County Register, "Northwood boys and Woodbridge girls capture PCL swim championships.," 11 May 2017
Wright is a 100m back, 400 free and medley relay specialist.

— randy sachs, star-telegram.com, "Young swimmers work to create foundation for Mansfield Timberview," 12 June 2017

Origin and Etymology of medley

see ¹medley

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

MEDLEY Defined for English Language Learners

medley

noun

Definition of medley for English Language Learners

: a musical piece made up of parts of other musical works
: a mixture of different people or things
sports : a race in swimming in which swimmers use a different stroke for each different part of the race