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• kitchen sink
  kitchen sink

  noun

  the final item imaginable on any extensive list of usually disparate items.
• kitchen-sink
  kitchen-sink

  adjective

  marked by an indiscriminate and omnivorous use of elements.

kitchen sink

¹ American  

noun

kitchen sinks plural

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

   He packed everything for his trip except the kitchen sink.

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kitchen-sink ² American  

[kich-uhn-singk] / ˈkɪtʃ ənˈsɪŋk /

adjective

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

   a kitchen-sink approach to moviemaking.

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kitchen sink British  

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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• kitchen sinks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of kitchen sink¹

1870–75, for literal sense

Origin of kitchen-sink²

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

As if releasing a pro-stealing film in a very anti-theft corporate culture weren’t ballsy enough, radical filmmaker Boots Riley grabs everything from the kitchen sink and tosses it into the blender for “I Love Boosters.”

From Salon • Jun. 10, 2026

“We essentially throw the kitchen sink at it,” says Haskin.

From Slate • May 23, 2026

They could have called it the Drano Edition because they threw in the kitchen sink.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 2, 2026

Don't mention that to the other tech giants, who have very much thrown the kitchen sink and everything else at AI.

From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026

He washes his hands at the kitchen sink.

From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas