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grab bag. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
grab bag, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
grab bag in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
grab bag you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
Literal sense:
Pronunciation
Noun
grab bag (plural grab bags)
- A gift, purchase, etc. whose contents are concealed until after a selection is made; a bag as gift that comprises mystery prizes.
- Synonym: mystery bag
- Coordinate terms: goody bag, party bag; swag bag
Winners can choose a gift from the grab bags on the table.
- A bag from which a gift or prize may be withdrawn (grabbed) unseen.
- Synonym: mystery bag
- Hypernyms: lucky dip, lucky draw
- Coordinate term: grab box
- (figurative) Any random assortment, selection or possibility.
- Synonyms: mixed bag, ragbag, hodgepodge; see also Thesaurus:hodgepodge
With that system, it's a grab bag which files we can find at any moment.
2015, Mark Ribowsky, Whiskey Bottles and Brand-New Cars:There were now a grab bag of southern country-rock units with a new wrinkle—Black Oak Arkansas, for one, combined psychedelia, fifties rock, Hindu spiritualism, and gospel into “psycho-boogie,” or “raunch 'n' roll.”
2020 August 18, James Poniewozik, “A D.N.C. Opening Night for the New Abnormal”, in The New York Times:There was no location, really — most of the convention took place in a Milwaukee of the mind. […] Instead, the teleconvention kept a few standards (like the Bruce Springsteen–soundtracked montage) and borrowed from a grab bag of other TV formats, from talk show to cable news to reality-TV reunion special.
2023 July 10, Zachary Woolfe, “Review: Ted Hearne’s Sweet, Sad American Elegy”, in The New York Times:While this piece is less scattered than Hearne’s most recent major work, “Place,” a deeply personal reflection on gentrification, “Farming,” too, feels like a grab bag into which there’s always assumed to be room for yet one more idea.
- A moderately large bag of crisps or other snack, suitable for sharing.
- A bag containing essential items, which can be easily picked up and taken in an emergency.
- Synonyms: bug-out bag, go bag
See also