smorgasbord
noun
Did you know?
Although smorgasbord might make us think of a variety of foods, the Swedish word smörgås refers to a particular food item—an open sandwich or, alternatively, a slice of bread covered with butter—which is a staple of the traditional Swedish smorgasbord. (The word smör means "butter," and gås can mean "a lump of butter" as well as "goose.") Smörgås teamed up with the Swedish word bord, meaning "table" or "board," to form smorgasbord; the word first appeared in English in the later part of the 19th century. By the mid-20th century smorgasbord was being used outside of food-related contexts to refer to something that comprises a mixture or assemblage of different parts.
Examples of smorgasbord in a Sentence
Howard Homonoff, Forbes.com, 9 July 2025
Nashville teaches you to respect a creative smorgasbord of sounds and elements as options.
—Marcus K. Dowling, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
New York City, New York Population 8.2 million With thousands of bars and restaurants spread throughout its five boroughs, New York City offers a veritable smorgasbord of activities, 24 hours a day.
—Roger Sands, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025
In fact, there might almost be too much going on during this smorgasbord of tunes and tastes.
—Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 19 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for smorgasbord
Cite this Entry
“Smorgasbord.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/smorgasbord. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
smorgasbord
noun
from Swedish smörgåsbord "a buffet meal," from smörgås "open sandwich" and bord "table"
Share