medley

American  

[med-lee] / ˈmɛd li /

noun

• medleys
  plural

1. a mixture, especially of heterogeneous elements; hodgepodge; jumble.

2. a piece of music combining tunes or passages from various sources.

   a medley of hit songs from Broadway shows.

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adjective

1. Archaic. mixed; mingled.

medley British  

/ ˈmɛdlɪ /

noun

1. a mixture of various types or elements

2. a musical composition consisting of various tunes arranged as a continuous whole

3. Also called: medley relay. 

   1. swimming a race in which a different stroke is used for each length

   2. athletics a relay race in which each leg has a different distance

4. an archaic word for melee

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adjective

1. of, being, or relating to a mixture or variety

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• medleys
  plural

Etymology

Origin of medley

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English noun and adjective medle(e), medlei(e), maedlai(e) “battle, war, quarrel; mixture, balanced mixture,” from Anglo-French, Old French medlee, mellee, noun and adjective use of feminine of past participle of medler “to mix, fight”; see origin at meddle

Explanation

If you can't decide which of three songs to play, why not play a medley? A medley is one piece of music, made up of passages from other songs. Medley comes from the Old French word medlee which meant — eek! — hand-to-hand combat. There are times, like when watching the Academy Awards, that a really long medley accompanied by, say, mimes, might make you want to engage in battle, but a better way to remember this word is that it is related to the word, meddle, which means to get mixed up in someone's business.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

medley medleys

You can find many salads without lettuce as a main ingredient on the site, such as this eggplant purée with tomato salad or this summer medley of melon, mozzarella and prosciutto.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

Nowadays, recipes typically involve chicken, pork, beef and a medley of vegetables.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

The result was her 2024 Roberts Projects exhibit, “Betye Saar: New Work,” an objet trouvé medley in bronze and gold hues.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

She delivered a medley of Little Mix's biggest hits and a selection of her solo material.

From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026

The isthmus is a medley of mountains, beaches, wet tropical forests, and dry savannas, and is the most ecologically diverse area in Mesoamerica.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Over the years, the Mexican American singer has performed multiple Selena medleys, and included a Selena-inspired song, “Otro Capítulo,” on her most recent album, “Encuentros.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2025

Want to cut a song with several others to make the medleys fans are used to, and create choreography that fits to each moment within the mix?

From Slate ● Nov. 30, 2024

Its 208 pages, bound by a cranberry-colored cover, are crammed with technical jargon and medleys of elaborate mathematical equations.

From New York Times ● Jul. 9, 2023

This special anniversary celebration will hear the New World Players chamber ensemble perform music live at Benaroya Hall from the Final Fantasy video game series with everything from character themes to battle medleys.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 23, 2023

Each of us is a self-contained, free-standing individual, labeled by specific protein configurations at the surfaces of cells, identifiable by whorls of fingertip skin, maybe even by special medleys of fragrance.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas