smorgasbord
Americannoun
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a buffet meal of various hot and cold hors d'oeuvres, salads, casserole dishes, meats, cheeses, etc.
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an extensive array or variety.
The company has a smorgasbord of employee benefits.
noun
Etymology
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 ( def. )) + gås “goose, (dialect) lump of fat or butter” ( see goose ( def. )) + bord “table” ( see board ( def. ))
Explanation
A smorgasbord is an assortment of different things — a magazine might feature a smorgasbord of stories on a wide variety of subjects. Use the noun smorgasbord when you're talking about a selection of things, like a fabulous breakfast buffet, a long list of college classes you could take, or a motley group of camping companions. In Swedish, a smörgåsbord is a table full of different sandwich offerings. It literally means "butter goose table," from smörgås, which alternately means "bread and butter," and "bread and goose," plus bord, or "table."
Vocabulary lists containing smorgasbord
The Melting Pot: Food Words from Other Languages
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Down and Across
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The Season of Styx Malone
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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.
Shady Maple Smorgasbord: All-you-can-eat buffet open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, featuring traditional Pennsylvania Dutch cooking.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 26, 2018
He managed a now-defunct chain buffet called Sir George’s Smorgasbord House and worked his way up to manager at two Jack in the Box restaurants in Orange County before deciding to launch his own chain.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2017
TUE Smorgasbord buffet, dance to live music on three floors, Swedish pancake breakfast at 12:15 a.m.,
From Seattle Times • Dec. 23, 2013
"Icelandic Fantasies" is part of the Nordic Heritage Museum's "Mostly Nordic" chamber series — which means that after the show you can stay for a Smorgasbord, if you like.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 8, 2010
Another easy-to-spot glutton was the "gigantic man" who waddled into a Sir George's Smorgasbord House branch in the San Fernando Valley.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
