catchall

[ kach-awl ]

noun

1. a bag, basket, or other receptacle for odds and ends.
2. 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.

adjective

1. covering a wide variety of items or situations:

   The anthology is a catchall collection.

Word History and Origins

Origin of catchall¹

1830–40, Americanism; noun use of verb phrase catch all

Example Sentences

Opponents of CRT now invoke it as a catchall term for any discussion of systemic racism.

From Time

Exploiting 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.

From Washington Post

They took “carel” and spat out the word “curry” as a catchall for the food their local cooks would make for them.

From Ozy

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.

From Washington Post

Defensive 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.

From Washington Post

Kocurek said he was told he had been terminated “for cause,” a catchall term that allows dismissal for just about any reason.

From The Daily Beast

An accusation of witchcraft is vague enough to serve as a kind of catchall for discontent.

From The Daily Beast

This department is a catchall for a lot of items, and it hides a lot of leaks and wastes in business.

From Project Gutenberg

The IMF's propensity to provide a "catchall" one-measure-fits-all panacea is nothing short of shortsighted and disastrous.

From Project Gutenberg

Most of you in this Chamber didn't know what was in this catchall bill and report.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• broad
• comprehensive