kitchen sink
1 Americannoun
adjective
noun
-
a sink in a kitchen for washing dishes, vegetables, etc
-
everything that can be conceived of
-
(modifier) denoting a type of drama or painting of the 1950s depicting the sordid aspects of domestic reality
Etymology
Origin of kitchen sink1
1870–75, for literal sense
Origin of kitchen-sink1
First recorded in 1940–45
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She and her mother were filling up water bottles in the kitchen sink so they’d have clean water to drink when Natalie’s phone dinged.
From Literature
![]()
Know the location of your stop tap, which is usually under the kitchen sink or stairs, or in a kitchen cupboard, cellar, downstairs bathroom or toilet, garage or utility room.
From BBC
Here in London, they just about survived as Spurs threw the kitchen sink at the visitors, with the introduction of Richarlison in particular making a difference.
From BBC
“The administration may throw the kitchen sink at the market to try and fix housing,” he said.
From Barron's
Forest threw the kitchen sink at them towards the end and he stood strong.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.