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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
And state laws are a grab bag of various rules, mostly focused on data privacy in general.
—Bernard Condon, Los Angeles Times, 5 Jan. 2025
Sprinkled in amongst the album reviews are grab bag episodes discussing the latest happenings in the music industry, from award nomination rundowns to this summer’s Kamala/Brat crossover.
—Ashlea Halpern, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Dec. 2024
To be sure, such a grab bag of policies lacks the intellectual tidiness of a carbon price.
—Jeffrey Ball, Foreign Affairs, 14 June 2018
While some easy parallels can be drawn between this grab bag of famous names — Chesney and Buffett shared a close friendship, for example, as do Osbourne and Slash — feel free to have some fun in the comments about an amusing pair that could strain credulity.
—Devon Ivie, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for grab bag
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Word History
First Known Use
1855, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near grab bag
Cite this Entry
“Grab bag.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/grab%20bag. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.
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