medley

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noun med·ley \ ˈmed-lē \

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

These included the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke finals and the 200-yard individual medley finals.

— kerry hannon, New York Times, "She Just Won 3 Gold Medals for Her Swimming. She’s Only 73.," 11 Aug. 2017
Kids in a rainbow of camp shirts line up for chicken meatball subs and a vegetable medley.

— carlos frías, miamiherald, "More than 230,000 Miami-Dade kids rely on school lunches. What happens during summer?," 2 Aug. 2017
The brash 20-year-old from Indiana eclipsed her second individual world record of the meet in the 50 breaststroke, again besting Russian rival Yulia Efimova, and returned as part of the women’s 4×100 medley relay that also broke the world record.

— paul newberry, The Seattle Times, "Dressel has breakout moment at Budapest world championships," 30 July 2017
Set 10 school records during her career, including outdoor records in the 800- and 1,500-meter runs, 4x800 meter relay and the distance medley relay, and indoor records in the 1,500 meter run and 4x800 meter relay …

— jon hale, The Courier-Journal, "John Wall, Randall Cobb, Ralph Hacker headline 2017 UK Hall of Fame class," 17 July 2017
After taking home Olympic silver in the 400 individual medley last year, 23-year-old Chase Kalisz will compete in the 200 and 400 IMs at worlds.

— michael marot, The Seattle Times, "Nathan Adrian of Bremerton seems ready to be the face of U.S. men’s swimming program," 4 July 2017
The 20-year-old from Evansville won golds at Rio de Janeiro last year in the 100 breaststroke and 400 medley relay.

— david woods, The Courier-Journal, "IU's Lilly King tops prelims; setbacks for Carmel's Kibler, Bilquist," 28 June 2017
A textural medley of fried grains with sliced radishes and a generous pile of sprouts comes alive with a smear of tangy goat cheese.

— mike sula, Chicago Reader, "Matt Eversman is back in the game at Ella Elli," 22 June 2017
In 2016, finished fifth in 400-yard relay, ninth in 100 butterfly and 200 medley relay.

— will larkin, chicagotribune.com, "2016-17 Chicago Tribune Scholar-Athlete team," 20 June 2017

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

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medley Synonyms

Synonyms

agglomerate, agglomeration, alphabet soup, assortment, botch, clutter, collage, crazy quilt, farrago, gallimaufry, grab bag, gumbo, hash, hodgepodge, hotchpotch, jambalaya, jumble, jungle, litter, macédoine, miscellany, 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

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

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
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

Origin and Etymology of medley

see ¹medley

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

MEDLEY Defined for English Language Learners

medley

play

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

MEDLEY Defined for Kids

medley

play

noun med·ley \ ˈmed-lē \

Definition of medley for Students

plural medleys

1 :mixture 2, jumble

a medley of tastes

2 :a musical selection made up of a series of different songs or parts of different compositions

Learn More about medley

See words that rhyme with medley Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for medley Spanish Central: Translation of medley Nglish: Translation of medley for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of medley for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about medley

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medley

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