kitchen sink

¹

noun

1. the final item imaginable on any extensive list of usually disparate items.

   He packed everything for his trip except the kitchen sink.

kitchen-sink

²

[kich-uhn-singk]

adjective

1. marked by an indiscriminate and omnivorous use of elements.

   a kitchen-sink approach to moviemaking.

kitchen sink

noun

1. a sink in a kitchen for washing dishes, vegetables, etc

2. everything that can be conceived of

3. (modifier) denoting a type of drama or painting of the 1950s depicting the sordid aspects of domestic reality

Word History and Origins

Origin of kitchen sink¹

1870–75, for literal sense

Origin of kitchen sink²

First recorded in 1940–45