potpourri

noun

pot·​pour·​ri ˌpō-pu̇-ˈrē How to pronounce potpourri (audio)
1
: a mixture of flowers, herbs, and spices that is usually kept in a jar and used for scent
2
: a miscellaneous collection : medley
a potpourri of the best songs and sketchesCurrent Biography

Examples of potpourri in a Sentence

The festival was a musical potpourri—performances included folk, jazz, blues, and rap music. a potpourri of hit songs from the last 10 years
Recent Examples on the Web Great Wolf Lodge is featuring a Pumpkin Spice Suite at five of its resorts this fall, decked out with potpourri, pumpkin throw pillows and bottomless pumpkin spice lattes. Dee-Ann Durbin, Anchorage Daily News, 24 Aug. 2023 Enjoy stovetop potpourri year-round, just swap out the mixture with seasonal ingredients, such as citrus and herbs in the spring or pumpkin spices and apples in the fall. Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 26 July 2023 Homemade potpourri may sound like something your grandma would hand out as party favors, but potpourri is trending in a big way! Jessica Cherner, House Beautiful, 14 Dec. 2022 The Heat have to offer a potpourri of draft picks and anyone off the roster beyond Butler or Adebayo. Dave Hyde South Florida Sun-Sentinel (tns), Arkansas Online, 4 July 2023 Here, the choreographers peppered the stage with steps from the dancers’ training, a potpourri of small jumps and turns, while giving them occasions to be playful. Gia Kourlas, New York Times, 11 June 2023 Glass jars full of potpourri were placed on their bathroom shelves. Hiromi Kawakami, The New Yorker, 3 July 2023 The song’s entire first verse is a playful potpourri of vintage early ‘90s references to Kris Kross and Driving Miss Daisy. Al Shipley, SPIN, 16 June 2023 The Spider Society, with its delightfully bizarre potpourri of spider-entities (i.e., a Spider-Cowboy, Spider-Cat, Spider-Baby and Spider-Dinosaur), offers many opportunities for the movie to show off a compelling blend of visual gags, palettes and animation styles. Maya Phillips, New York Times, 1 June 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'potpourri.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

French pot pourri, literally, rotten pot

First Known Use

1749, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of potpourri was in 1749

Dictionary Entries Near potpourri

Cite this Entry

“Potpourri.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/potpourri. Accessed 24 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

potpourri

noun
pot·​pour·​ri ˌpō-pu̇-ˈrē How to pronounce potpourri (audio)
1
: a jar of flower petals and spices used for scent
2
: a miscellaneous collection : medley

More from Merriam-Webster on potpourri

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!