smorgasbord

[ smawr-guhs-bawrd, -bohrd or, often, shmawr- ]

See synonyms for smorgasbord on Thesaurus.com

noun

a buffet meal of various hot and cold hors d'oeuvres, salads, casserole dishes, meats, cheeses, etc.
an extensive array or variety: The company has a smorgasbord of employee benefits.

Origin of smorgasbord

First recorded in 1875–80; from Swedish smörgåsbord, equivalent to smörgås “(slice of) bread and butter, sandwich,” from smör “butter”; (see smear) + gås “goose, (dialect) lump of fat or butter” (see goose) + bord “table” (see board)

Also smör·gås·bord [Swedish smœr-gaws-boord]. /Swedish ˈsmœr gɔsˌburd/.

Words Nearby smorgasbord

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use smorgasbord in a sentence

The book is more than a smorgasbord—it’s like a World’s Fair international food pavilion bound between covers.
The Four Cookbooks That Got Me Out of My Pandemic Cooking Rut | Max Watman | June 25, 2021 | The Daily Beast
The reason to read this book is not so much that it contains a recipe for anything — unless you’re baking, there may be no such thing — but rather that it offers a smorgasbord of ideas from which you can pick and choose what works for you.
The not-so-surprising secrets of wealthy investors | Bethany McLean | May 14, 2021 | Washington Post
For a monthly fee, gamers can get access to a smorgasbord of titles to choose from, or play their own on pricey hardware.
The Perfect Last-Minute Gifts for the Gamers in Your Life | Patrick Lucas Austin | December 11, 2020 | Time
All of these should play well with a smorgasbord of foods and help set a holiday mood.
Food-friendly wines to pair with your Thanksgiving dishes | Dave McIntyre | November 20, 2020 | Washington Post
In the upcoming year, tech companies plan to push a smorgasbord of policy changes, each of which will have its own political implications.
What Silicon Valley needs from the 2020 election | Danielle Abril | September 30, 2020 | Fortune

Holding the architectural smorgasbord of a castle together was cement, wire, and mortar.
The Postman Who Built a Palace in France…by Hand | Nina Strochlic | November 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
It’s arguably the best film of the ‘90s—a postmodern pop culture smorgasbord awash in nihilism and dripping with retro cool.
The Secrets of ‘Pulp Fiction’: 20 Things You Didn’t Know About the Movie on Its 20th Anniversary | Marlow Stern | October 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
In Magnolia (1999)—“a smorgasbord of pleasure, that movie”—he played opposite Tom Cruise as a nurse.
Philip Seymour Hoffman: An Actor First | Tim Teeman | February 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
And there is an intellectual smorgasbord of policy lunches, coffees, and evening lectures, most of it open to the public.
Will DC Become a World City? | Megan McArdle | October 2, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Beck's been pumping up this super-patriot smorgasbord since last November.
I Have a Nightmare | John Avlon | August 27, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
There she was, five foot eleven of big, bouncy, blonde smorgasbord.
Inside John Barth | William W. Stuart

British Dictionary definitions for smorgasbord

smorgasbord

/ (ˈsmɔːɡəsˌbɔːd, ˈsmɜː-) /

noun

a variety of cold or hot savoury dishes, such as pâté, smoked salmon, etc, served in Scandinavia as hors d'oeuvres or as a buffet meal

Origin of smorgasbord

Swedish, from smörgås sandwich + bord table

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Browse