grab bag

American  

noun

1. a container or receptacle from which a person at a party or the like draws a gift without knowing what it is.

2. any miscellaneous collection.

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grab bag British  

noun

1. a collection of miscellaneous things

2. a bag or other container from which gifts are drawn at random

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grab bag Idioms  

1. A miscellaneous collection, as in The meeting amounted to a grab bag of petty complaints. This term alludes to a container offered at a party or fair, where one dips in for a party favor or prize without knowing what one will get. [Mid-1800s]

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Etymology

Origin of grab bag

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

grab bag

“We’ve really waited for the right place and the right person to bring our little grab bag of Chipmunk goodies back to the public.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

Markel didn’t help itself with a disappointing first-quarter profit report in late April that reflected weakness at the noninsurance businesses—a grab bag of about two dozen companies.

From Barron's ● May 8, 2026

But if you can’t get a grab bag, you can perhaps sip on an award-winning wine.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 24, 2026

“Perfect World” is the grab bag of the lot.

From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2025

We’re lucky that English, with its stretchy grammar and its giant grab bag of a vocabulary, gives us so much room for verbal play, if not anarchy.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner