alphabet soup

noun

: a hodgepodge especially of initials (as of the names of organizations)

Synonyms

• agglomerate
• agglomeration
• assortment
• botch
• clutter
• collage
• crazy quilt
• farrago
• gallimaufry
• grab bag
• gumbo
• hash
• hodgepodge
• hotchpotch
• jambalaya
• jumble
• jungle
• litter
• macédoine
• medley
• mélange
• menagerie
• miscellanea
• miscellany
• mishmash
• mixed bag
• montage
• motley
• muddle
• olio
• olla podrida
• omnium-gatherum
• pastiche
• patchwork
• patchwork quilt
• potpourri
• ragbag
• ragout
• rummage
• salad
• salmagundi
• scramble
• shuffle
• smorgasbord
• stew
• tumble
• variety
• welter

Examples of alphabet soup in a Sentence

a bowl of alphabet soup

the alphabet soup of designer drugs that were available to patrons of the once-notorious disco

Recent Examples on the Web

Over the past eight years, Los Angeles voters have supported an alphabet soup of ballot propositions intended to address the region’s homeless crisis. —Jessica Goodheart, USA TODAY, 27 Dec. 2024

The National Film Registry Board selects the films and is composed of members from AMPAS, AFI, DGA, the MPA, NATO, the ASC, the WGA, and a whole bunch of other alphabet soup organizations. —Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 17 Dec. 2024

None of the rest of the alphabet soup of FLiRT family descendants constituted more than 5% of the bunch. —Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 28 Dec. 2024

But for now, its studio is crowded with an alphabet soup of glass tubing and metal letters as tall as 56 inches. —John Freeman Gill, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1884, in the meaning defined above