Definition of miscellaneous
1 : consisting of diverse things or members : heterogeneous
2a : having various traitsb : dealing with or interested in diverse subjects as a writer I was too miscellaneous — George Santayana
miscellaneously
adverbmiscellaneousness
nounIndulge Your Inner Word Nerd
Examples of miscellaneous in a Sentence
The coyotes, in other words, also munched rabbits, woodchucks, meadow mice, deer mice, jumping mice, and freelance miscellaneous booty like frogs and fallen apples and muskrats, … —Edward Hoagland, Harper's, June 2007
The sandhogs' word for a miscellaneous happening in which a sandhog is injured is mishap. —Alec Wilkinson, Double Take, Summer 2001
… we came upon what must have been his camp, a rather elaborate shelter made of lashed saplings and covered with plastic sheeting; empty Clorox bottles were scattered around, along with rope, canned goods, and what Huck Finn would have called his traps—the miscellaneous pots, clothing, and whatnot that you lug around through life. —Franklin Burroughs, The River Home, 1992
a miscellaneous collection of tools
the bottom of the drawer was always a miscellaneous accumulation of odds and ends
Recent Examples of miscellaneous from the Web
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A black Coach wallet, valued at $100, containing cash, a driver's license, various credit cards and other miscellaneous cards, was reported stolen from an unattended purse at Cooper's Hawk, 798 W. Algonquin Road, on March 31.
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He was seen climbing over the fence and putting an estimated $300 worth of miscellaneous clothing into a black plastic bag, reported Sgt. Robert Samuels.
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Items stolen included miscellaneous pieces of women’s jewelry, a dozen high-end men’s watches, assorted pieces of men’s jewelry, a .357 Ruger revolver and a 9-millimeter Ruger semi-automatic gun.
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The letter was signed by a miscellaneous group of seventy-three people, including distant family members, writers, nuns, and lawyers.
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The main costs include housing, food, transportation, health care, education, clothing and other miscellaneous expenses.
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Sales in the miscellaneous subsector rose 3.9% to C$7.20 billion, on a hefty increase in demand for agricultural supplies such as fertilizer and pesticides.
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The other was a software program that gathers miscellaneous scraps of data on a computer (such as the precise time that a key is pressed), mixes them together, and extracts random numbers from the pool.
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Winnings are reported on the front of Form 1040 on Line 21, other income, but losses go on Schedule A as a miscellaneous itemized deduction, said Julian Block, a tax lawyer in Larchmont, N.Y.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'miscellaneous'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of miscellaneous
Latin miscellaneus, from miscellus mixed
First Known Use: 1637
MISCELLANEOUS Defined for English Language Learners
miscellaneous
playDefinition of miscellaneous for English Language Learners
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: including many things of different kinds
MISCELLANEOUS Defined for Kids
miscellaneous
playDefinition of miscellaneous for Students
: consisting of many things of different sorts
Learn More about miscellaneous
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See words that rhyme with miscellaneous Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for miscellaneous Spanish Central: Translation of miscellaneous Nglish: Translation of miscellaneous for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of miscellaneous for Arabic speakers
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