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Synonyms

assortment

American  
[uh-sawrt-muhnt] / əˈsɔrt mənt /

noun

  • assortments
    plural
  1. the act of assorting; distribution; classification.

  2. a collection of various kinds of things; a mixed collection.


assortment British  
/ əˈsɔːtmənt /

noun

  1. a collection or group of various things or sorts

  2. the act of assorting

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Etymology

Origin of assortment

First recorded in 1605–15; assort + -ment

Explanation

An assortment is a collection of things that aren't the same. An assortment of chocolates might have some that are filled with coconut, caramel, or nuts. Yum. An assortment is a bunch of different things all together whether they’re the same sort or not. An assortment of nuts is a bunch of different nuts, such as cashews, peanuts, and almonds. If you have books, candy bars, action figures, photos, and paper clips on your desk, you have an assortment of things. A store that sells a wide variety of products offers an assortment. If you love choices, assortments are for you.

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Vocabulary lists containing assortment

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

It lacks the assortment of heavy trucks that sustain GM’s bottom line, although Toyota’s hybrid-heavy lineup continues to pay off amid high gas prices.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 21, 2026

The company has changed out 75% of its assortment of decorative accessories, a move that has attracted customers, but management cited a need to fine-tune the home section.

From MarketWatch Aug. 19, 2026

All that is left now is his motorbike, one red bicycle and an assortment of tools.

From Barron's Aug. 14, 2026

Their analysis also indicates that the meteorite's complex assortment of amino acids formed inside its parent body.

From Science Daily Aug. 8, 2026

There were stone turrets, an assortment of chimneys, and casement windows.

From "Chasing Vermeer" by Blue Balliett

Reducing our assortments is one change we’ll make this summer.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 12, 2026

Management called out the “tremendous opportunity” in the second half of the year as Burlington laps the late 2025 tariff-related disruptions in merchandise assortments.

From Barron's Mar. 6, 2026

He notes he’s got assortments, too — starting at around $35.

From MarketWatch Jan. 27, 2026

Chaudhari offers two potential explanations for this surprising phenomenon: first, neural networks are never trained on random assortments of pixels.

From Science Daily Mar. 27, 2024

Out the window were sleepy towns, assortments of dark wooden buildings that seemed untouched by war yet worn and cracked by age.

From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata

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