grab bag

noun

1

: a receptacle (such as a bag) containing small articles which are to be drawn (as at a party or fair) without being seen

2

: a miscellaneous collection : potpourri

Synonyms

• agglomerate
• agglomeration
• alphabet soup
• assortment
• botch
• clutter
• collage
• crazy quilt
• farrago
• gallimaufry
• gumbo
• hash
• hodgepodge
• hotchpotch
• jambalaya
• jumble
• jungle
• litter
• macédoine
• medley
• mélange
• menagerie
• miscellanea
• miscellany
• mishmash
• mixed bag
• montage
• motley
• muddle
• olio
• olla podrida
• omnium-gatherum
• pastiche
• patchwork
• patchwork quilt
• potpourri
• ragbag
• ragout
• rummage
• salad
• salmagundi
• scramble
• shuffle
• smorgasbord
• stew
• tumble
• variety
• welter

Examples of grab bag in a Sentence

Congress has proposed a grab bag of tax cuts.

the festival featured a grab bag of independent films from widely disparate genres

Recent Examples on the Web

Next weekend's premieres are a grab bag, with no clear frontrunner to challenge A Working Man for No 1. —Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 30 Mar. 2025

First, there is the music: Those standards from the original album, a grab bag of genres and styles from a Cuba several decades ago, no surprise, still kill. —Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 19 Mar. 2025

The animal features a unique grab bag of traits of other nudibranchs, says study co-author and MBARI marine biologist Steven Haddock. —Jude Coleman, Scientific American, 23 Jan. 2025

There will also be exciting opportunity drawings and grab bags. —Sharon Hlapcich, Orange County Register, 20 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1855, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for grab bag

• airbag
• handbag
• ragtag
• sandbag
• ag
• brag
• dag
• drag
• flag
• gag
• hag
• hagg