ragout

noun

ra·​gout ra-ˈgü 

1

: well-seasoned meat and vegetables cooked in a thick sauce

2

: mixture, mélange

Did you know?

If you need an English word that can refer to either a combination of food items or a random assortment of things, there's no shortage of options on the menu. If you're in the mood for a stew, there's hodgepodge (formerly "hotchpotch"), olla podrida, or gallimaufry. Perhaps you'd rather start with a palate cleanser, like macédoine or salmagundi. We also have gumbo or jambalaya, if Southern cooking is more your thing, or smorgasbord if you prefer words of Swedish descent. Then there's ragout, which comes from French ragoûter, meaning "to revive the taste," and ultimately from Latin gustus, meaning "taste."

Synonyms

• agglomerate
• agglomeration
• alphabet soup
• assortment
• botch
• clutter
• collage
• crazy quilt
• farrago
• gallimaufry
• grab bag
• 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
• rummage
• salad
• salmagundi
• scramble
• shuffle
• smorgasbord
• stew
• tumble
• variety
• welter

Examples of ragout in a Sentence

the movie is an uncertain ragout of fantasy, science fiction, and old-fashioned romance

Recent Examples on the Web

Via Vite The Easter buffet at Via Vite includes a mix of breakfast offerings and classic Italian dishes, such as scrambled eggs, French toast with berries compote, handmade crispy gnocchi, and Italian sausage and bean ragout. —Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 11 Mar. 2024

This might go down alongside the rustic pappardelle with wild boar ragout at Forno as one of my favorite pasta dishes in town. —Keith Pandolfi, The Enquirer, 19 Jan. 2024

Escargots arrive in a ragout of eggplant puree, crisp julienne trumpet mushrooms, and a suggestion of bacon and cumin. —Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 27 Nov. 2023

In between courses of roasted lemon chicken, pasta with forest mushroom ragout, and kale with garlic, Christensen caught up with seatmates like Julianne Moore, Adrien Brody, Haley Logan, Georgina Chapman, Camilla Staerk, and Tina Leung. —Mario Abad, Vogue, 21 Oct. 2023

Word History

Etymology

French ragoût, from ragoûter to revive the taste, from Middle French ragouster, from re- + a- ad- (from Latin ad-) + goust taste, from Latin gustus; akin to Latin gustare to taste — more at choose

First Known Use

1652, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

ragout

noun

ra·​gout ra-ˈgü 

: a highly seasoned stew of meat and vegetables