olio

American  

[oh-lee-oh] / ˈoʊ liˌoʊ /

noun

olios plural

1. a dish of many ingredients.

2. Informal. olla podrida.

3. a mixture of heterogeneous elements; hodgepodge.

4. a medley or potpourri, as of musical or literary selections; miscellany.

5. Theater.

   1. a specialty act performed downstage while the upstage set is changed.

   2. a performance, as a musical number, presented between scenes or acts.

   3. drop scene.

   4. a program of variety acts, especially the second half of a minstrel show.

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olio British  

/ ˈəʊlɪˌəʊ /

noun

1. a dish of many different ingredients

2. a miscellany or potpourri

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• olios
  plural

Etymology

Origin of olio

1635–45; < Spanish olla pot, stew < Latin olla, ōla pot, jar

Explanation

An olio is a hodgepodge of various things. The contents of your desk might be an olio of books and notebooks, uneaten snacks, the mini flashlight you found on the sidewalk, a golf ball, toothbrush and toothpaste, a Frisbee... An olio was originally, and still is, a Spanish or Latin American stew containing a variety of ingredients, such as sausage, perhaps other meats, tomatoes, chickpeas, and various other vegetables. The full name for this stew is olla podrida. The word olio came to be used for any collection of many kinds of different things, especially things that don't really seem to belong together or have anything in common. It can also describe a musical medley or a variety show.

Example Sentences

One way Jersey residents have looked to save money has been using the app Olio, which allows people to buy unsold supermarket food at a reduced price.

From BBC • Aug. 28, 2025

“It’s a hotel that’s about a community,” Rockwell said as he led me on a tour of dining areas, bars, guest rooms — and the objects in what has been termed the Olio Collection.

From Washington Post • Jul. 22, 2022

Among them was a discussion about his Oscar-nominated role as Olio Perlman in "Call Me By Your Name," which also starred Hammer, 35.

From Fox News • Oct. 12, 2021

The number of users on Olio has doubled during the pandemic, from 2 million to 4 million worldwide.

From BBC • Aug. 9, 2021

Obliged to return to England, so that she might raise funds, she wrote one or two volumes of Poems and Philosophical Fancies, successors to another grotesque work entitled The World's Olio.

From The Dukeries by Haslehust, E. W.