sundry
Americanadjective
idioms
determiner
pronoun
noun
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(plural) miscellaneous unspecified items
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also called: extra. cricket a run not scored from the bat, such as a wide, no-ball, bye, or leg bye
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of sundry
before 900; Middle English; Old English syndrig private, separate, equivalent to syndr- (mutated form of sundor asunder ) + -ig -y 1; akin to sunder
Explanation
A teenager emptying out his backpack at the end of the school year might find sundry items at the bottom, meaning that the backpack was filled with a random collection of unrelated things — an old stick of gum, a broken pair of sunglasses, crumpled pieces of paper, and so forth. Most people associate the word sundry with the old-fashioned drugstore in their neighborhood that used to sell all sorts of odds and ends, from magazines to hairbrushes. The word is typically used as an adjective to describe a collection of various different items found in one place, as in — "I discovered records, perfume bottles, and sundry items at my neighbor's yard sale." The phrase "all and sundry" refers collectively to a group of people, as in, "I invited all and sundry of my relatives to my tea party."
Vocabulary lists containing sundry
"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act IV
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"Of Plymouth Plantation," Vocabulary from the historical account
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Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
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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.
Plus sundry hallucinations, bad dreams, possession, dark spaces, creepy noises, fraught family relations — and, as with so many horror stories, a bad thing in the past bringing down the future.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 28, 2026
Philip Larkin, Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens and sundry others have all been criticised for their personal conduct.
From BBC • Mar. 7, 2026
And the third section highlights individuals who, like locations, represent the sundry specificities of the nation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 19, 2025
Warmed by sundry houseplants and a caffeinated cloud, I was handed a plate full of intent.
From Salon • Sep. 14, 2025
Homer’s duties encompassed driving the team, sundry maintenance, and what Ridgeway termed “bookkeeping.”
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
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.
