noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   Any place or repository where things are placed indiscriminately or without careful thought.

   "If you're not careful, the entrance table will quickly become a catch-all for things that come in the door."

2. 2
   Ellipsis of catch-all term. abbreviation, alt-of, broadly, ellipsis

Synonyms

All synonyms

big tentbouillabaissebric-a-braccocktaildog's breakfastdribs and drabs

Example

More examples

"Don't use the sink as a catch-all for miscellaneous items."

Etymology

From catch + -all.

Related phrases

catch-all partycatch-all phrasecatch-all termcatch-allism

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.