catchall
a bag, basket, or other receptacle for odds and ends.
something that covers a wide variety of items or situations: The list is just a catchall of things I want to see or do on vacation.
covering a wide variety of items or situations: The anthology is a catchall collection.
Origin of catchall
1Words Nearby catchall
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use catchall in a sentence
Opponents of CRT now invoke it as a catchall term for any discussion of systemic racism.
'Critical Race Theory Is Simply the Latest Bogeyman.' Inside the Fight Over What Kids Learn About America's History | Olivia B. Waxman | June 24, 2021 | TimeExploiting that uncertainty, there has been an effort on the right to use the phrase as something of a catchall for nearly any discussion of or focus on race that might trigger frustration.
The Scholar Strategy: How ‘critical race theory’ alarms could convert racial anxiety into political energy | Philip Bump | June 15, 2021 | Washington PostThey took “carel” and spat out the word “curry” as a catchall for the food their local cooks would make for them.
Tracking assignments in a written planner allows students to keep all their assignments in one streamlined place and acts as a catchall, particularly when they have teachers who communicate in different ways.
How to help kids adapt to the chaos that is hybrid learning | Ana Homayoun | March 25, 2021 | Washington PostDefensive runs saved, a catchall FanGraphs metric that measures players in relation to the average, ranks Schwarber as baseball’s second-worst left fielder since 2017.
Signing Kyle Schwarber puts a spotlight on Victor Robles’s defense | Jesse Dougherty | January 11, 2021 | Washington Post
Kocurek said he was told he had been terminated “for cause,” a catchall term that allows dismissal for just about any reason.
Two Texas Regulators Tried to Enforce the Rules. They Were Fired. | David Hasemyer, InsideClimate News | December 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAn accusation of witchcraft is vague enough to serve as a kind of catchall for discontent.
Will Saudi Arabia Execute Guest Workers for 'Witchcraft'? | Michael Schulson | March 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThis department is a catchall for a lot of items, and it hides a lot of leaks and wastes in business.
Dollars and Sense | Col. Wm. C. HunterThe IMF's propensity to provide a "catchall" one-measure-fits-all panacea is nothing short of shortsighted and disastrous.
After the Rain | Sam VakninMost of you in this Chamber didn't know what was in this catchall bill and report.
British Dictionary definitions for catch-all
something designed to cover a variety of situations or possibilities
(as modifier): a catch-all clause
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
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