grab bag

noun

Definition of grab bagnext
as in variety
an unorganized collection or mixture of various things the festival featured a grab bag of independent films from widely disparate genres

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of grab bag The Flaming Grill has a grab bag of flavors. — Max Scheinblum, Denver Post, 18 May 2026 Kiffin sat down with Vanity Fair at the beginning of the month to discuss a whole grab bag of topics, but the most sensational headlines came from his comments regarding his former employer, Ole Miss. — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 13 May 2026 Before bed, Agnes adds Garth’s cigarette stub to her grab bag of mementos. — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 6 May 2026 Officials said the advisory is not a quake prediction but urged residents to raise their preparedness, such as emergency food and their grab bag just in case, while continuing their daily lives. — CBS News, 20 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for grab bag
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grab bag
  1. variety
  2. assortment
  3. medley
  4. jumble
  5. collage
  6. mixed bag
  7. blend
Noun
  • Instead of choosing one flavor of pre-packaged candy, Swedish supermarkets and candy stores have a variety of bins full of sweets for shoppers to pluck from.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 July 2026
  • Today, some bright spots aside, the Art Deco District’s historic commercial spine is a drab length of vacant and unkempt storefronts, smoke shops, liquor stores, fast-food outlets, cheap T-shirt emporia and other varieties of tourist trap.
    — Andres Viglucci, Miami Herald, 22 July 2026
Definition of variety
Noun
  • And The Agentic Economy From demand forecasting and assortment planning to pricing, recommendations and inventory optimization, AI is accelerating and sharpening decision-making across the aftermarket.
    — Anan Bishara, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
  • The reindeer live on the Ritter farm with an assortment of other animals, the stars of her petting zoo.
    — Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 23 July 2026
Definition of assortment
Noun
  • First, Christmas carolers came out and performed a medley to cultivate a Yuletide spirit on a balmy 80-degree afternoon.
    — Angelique Jackson, Variety, 23 July 2026
  • Set on a stage at the very highest level of the stands, that similarly crowded performance looked like a Grammys medley on video but must have resembled ants scurrying around a screensaver to much of the in-person audience.
    — Judy Berman, Time, 19 July 2026
Definition of medley
Noun
  • Arches and natural bridges sweep like buttresses from jumbles of rock, giving this landscape a mystical, cathedral-like quality.
    — Madison Chapman, Outside, 25 Mar. 2026
  • Macaroons are chewy jumbles of coconut bound together with egg whites and sweetened condensed milk.
    — Lynda Balslev, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026
Definition of jumble
Noun
  • The tarot is a full 78-card deck, with each card an original work of art, usually a composite of gouache painting and collage/lithography.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 July 2026
  • Hanging above a 19th-century Swedish-oak trestle table sourced from Adam Lloyd is a framed hand-cut paper collage by Lena Wolff.
    — Genevieve Walker, Architectural Digest, 11 July 2026
Definition of collage
Noun
  • That seems to align with what appeared to be a mixed bag of success for the city’s businesses during the event.
    — Dylan Lysen, Kansas City Star, 16 July 2026
  • But United’s Brazilian buys have been something of a mixed bag.
    — Chris McKenna, New York Times, 16 July 2026
Definition of mixed bag
Noun
  • Chai Maintenance blends spiced chai with lemonade and adds a cardamom-sugar rim.
    — Noel Burgess, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
  • They’re tossed in a blend of malt-vinegar powder, sugar, salt, black pepper, and MSG, a miraculous combination that activates every sensory receptor simultaneously, and nearly blows out your palate for anything else.
    — Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 19 July 2026
Definition of blend

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Cite this Entry

“Grab bag.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grab%20bag. Accessed 27 Jul. 2026.

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