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

Relevance

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 Three of the five subtypes were different flavors of night owls, and two were early birds—each with a grab bag of different properties. — Kate Graham-Shaw, Scientific American, 9 July 2026 Hello and welcome to the newsletter, a grab bag of daily content from the Odd Lots universe. — Joe Weisenthal, Bloomberg, 23 June 2026 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 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
  • Locals claimed that drinking it was helpful for a variety of respiratory and digestive problems.
    — D. T. Max, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026
  • That includes cards such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees), which comes with a variety of excellent travel insurance benefits and the American Express® Gold Card, which is a rewarding option for dining and grocery purchases.
    — Jason Stauffer, CNBC, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of variety
Noun
  • Developed with creative chairman Reed Krakoff and design teams in New York and Bali, the assortment splices the siblings’ contrasting aesthetics with John Hardy’s longstanding tradition of handcraft.
    — Thomas Waller, Footwear News, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Now, a deeper look suggests a much broader assortment of material from the outside world — silica, metals, soot and other debris — is getting through.
    — Ariana Eunjung Cha, Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of assortment
Noun
  • Waiters walked around the room serving bowls of pasta with a medley of sauces.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Oct. 2026
  • After an opening medley that spans New Orleans jazz and bounce, the record’s signposts grow increasingly fuzzy.
    — Stephen Kearse, Pitchfork, 9 Oct. 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
  • So are three mural-sized collages that reflect his ongoing investigations into the legacies of colonialism.
    — Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The first gallery presents Krasner’s collage works from the mid 1950s, when Pollock was at an artistic impasse and spiraling out of control.
    — John Yau, ARTnews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of collage
Noun
  • The first installment on the other end of the evaluation produced a mixed bag.
    — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The mixed bag offered a better value at about 41 cents per ounce, compared with approximately 49 cents per ounce for the all-chocolate option.
    — Kristine Lazar, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of mixed bag
Noun
  • The name came from the fact that the original cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg spice blend was the same as that used in pumpkin pie.
    — Rebekah Evans, TheWeek, 26 Oct. 2026
  • The blend of traditional and stop-motion animation is impressive, as is Kevin Michael Richardson’s Venom voice.
    — Joshua Kurp, Vulture, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of blend

Browse Nearby Words

grab
grab bag
grab bags
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Grab bag.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grab%20bag. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of grotesque

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All