gumbo

1 of 2

noun (1)

gum·​bo ˈgəm-(ˌ)bō 

plural gumbos

1

: a soup thickened with okra pods or filé and containing meat or seafoods and usually vegetables

2

: okra sense 1

3

a

: any of various fine-grained silty soils especially of the central U.S. that when wet become impervious and soapy or waxy and very sticky

b

: a heavy sticky mud

4

: mixture, mélange

gumbo adjective

gumbo

2 of 2

noun (2)

variants or Gumbo

: creole sense 4a(1)

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• agglomerate
• agglomeration
• alphabet soup
• assortment
• botch
• clutter
• collage
• crazy quilt
• farrago
• gallimaufry
• grab bag
• 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 gumbo in a Sentence

Noun (1)

drew his artistic inspiration from the city's rich gumbo of musical styles

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

But none are as sought after as the legendary gumbo z’herbes at Dooky Chase’s Restaurant in New Orleans. —Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 29 Mar. 2025

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans is the undisputed birthplace of jazz, where the genre was created by the same cross-cultural collisions that brought us gumbo and Mardi Gras. —Nicholas Derenzo, AFAR Media, 21 Mar. 2025

Tori’s menu is filled with southern cuisine ranging from hot water cornbread at $2.50 a piece to a family-sized portion of their specialty dish gumbo for $27. —Brianna Taylor, Sacramento Bee, 14 Mar. 2025

Food in the suites includes New Orleans classics like Po’ Boy sandwiches, alligator sausage and chicken and sausage gumbo, as well as sushi, steak and a seafood tower. —Nicolas Vega, CNBC, 7 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

American French gombo, of Bantu origin; akin to Umbundu ochinggômbo okra

Noun (2)

American French gombo, perhaps from Kongo nkômbô runaway slave

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1805, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1838, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing gumbo

• gumbo-limbo

Rhymes for gumbo

• jumbo
• columbo

Kids Definition

gumbo

noun

gum·​bo

ˈgəm-bō

plural gumbos

1

a

: okra

b

: a soup thickened with okra pods

2

: any of various silty soils that become very sticky when wet