variety

noun va·ri·e·ty \ və-ˈrī-ə-tē \

Updated on: 10 May 2018

Definition of variety

plural varieties

1 : the quality or state of having different forms or types : multifariousness

2 : a number or collection of different things especially of a particular class : assortment

3 a : something differing from others of the same general kind : sort

b : any of various groups of plants or animals ranking below a species : subspecies

4 : variety show

See variety defined for English-language learners

See variety defined for kids

Examples of variety in a Sentence

I was surprised by the variety of the choices that were available.
My life needs more variety.

Recent Examples of variety from the Web

Watersport lovers have a variety of options to enjoy the sparkling sands of the gulf.

— amy aumick, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Explore Florida's Bay County: Resort's fountain show a gem of Panama City Beach," 7 May 2018
Live cultures die over time, and supplements use a variety of packaging techniques like blister packs, foil containers, and cooling technology to slow down this process.

— aliza abarbanel, Bon Appetit, "What’s the Deal with Probiotics and Which Ones Should I Take?," 7 May 2018
Scenes like this play out every weekend across Europe, where teams big and small and across a variety of sports employ Native American names, symbols and concepts of wildly variable authenticity in their branding.

— andrew keh, New York Times, "Tomahawk Chops and Indian Mascots: In Europe, Teams Don’t See a Problem," 7 May 2018
Every week, bloggers at ChicagoNow share a variety of the best things to eat, drink and do in the Chicago area.

— chicagonow staff, RedEye Chicago, "This week in Chicago arts, food and drink via ChicagoNow," 7 May 2018
People a variety of backgrounds participated in the parade, with African-American high schoolers marching with a drum line and diverse groups of Girl Scouts walking the route with banners held high.

— jaimy jones, Houston Chronicle, "Cinco de Mayo parade a colorful expression of heritage, pride," 5 May 2018
Researchers from various security organizations have used a variety of names to assign responsibility for the hacks, including LEAD, BARIUM, Wicked Panda, GREF, PassCV, Axiom, and Winnti.

— dan goodin, Ars Technica, "Report: Chinese government is behind a decade of hacks on software companies," 5 May 2018
In addition, Docter said, Associated offers a variety of career development programs.

— paul gores, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Intangibles such as collegiality, opportunity and connection are marks of great workplaces," 4 May 2018
The finding, in germ-free mice, could one day help researchers trying to treat a variety of conditions by adding microbes to the human body.

— katie langin, Science | AAAS, "Top stories: a disgraced surgeon, ancient human voyages, and an antibody-coated bacterium," 4 May 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of variety

borrowed from Middle French or Latin; Middle French varieté, borrowed from Latin varietāt-, varietās, from varius "having contrasting colors, ¹various" + -etāt- -etās, variant of -itās -ity

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year