mishmash
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of mishmash
1425–75; late Middle English; gradational formation based on mash 1
Explanation
A mishmash is a random bunch of odds and ends. Many people have a mishmash of things in their basement or garage. A pile of old keys, one sock, four paper clips, and a water bottle? Total mishmash. Many houses have one kitchen drawer full of a mishmash of pens, rubber bands, carryout menus, and gum, for example. If you write a last-minute research paper, you might wind up with a mishmash of random ideas and opinions. The word was originally spelled with a hyphen, mish-mash, and before that it was mysse-masche, which had to do with mash, as in a bunch of soft food chucked together and fed to pigs. Another word for mishmash is hodgepodge.
Vocabulary lists containing mishmash
Stargirl
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"Mireya Mayor: Explorer/Correspondent"
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Wink
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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.
The move to set up a kind of mini vintage store featuring a mishmash of garments is a stark contrast from the Swedish apparel giant’s typical offerings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Year after year we endured a mishmash roster with his hand-picked players, just to appease LeBron.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026
“We wanted to be this mishmash of the MC5, and the Clash, and Iggy, you know, all our favorite bands, but we did not sound like that,” says Volpe.
From Salon ● Apr. 28, 2026
This was a mishmash of ideas with no clear identification marks.
From BBC ● Feb. 11, 2026
Oh dear, what a mishmash of gratitude follows.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
