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.
It would be tempting to go all in on a smorgasbord of '90s and early '00s bold prints and baggy jerseys, or late '80s designs that have reappeared as lifestyle staples.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
Coming on the heels of the Grammy Award-winning “Harry’s House,” “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally” is an experimental tour-de-force, a pop smorgasbord that is part homage, part electronica and part bacchanalia.
From Salon ● Mar. 6, 2026
Overachieving teenagers have long pursued a smorgasbord of résumé-polishing summer activities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2026
Only much later would I realize that it wasn’t so much a smorgasbord of vendors as it was the Gorgon Medusa: When one head is removed, more sprout in its place.
From Slate ● Jan. 13, 2026
Similarly, the small birds in the rest areas began to learn that the automobiles and trucks that came roaring in brought with them a wonderful smorgasbord of insects caught and carried in their radiator grilles.
From This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen
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.
