gumbo

1 of 2

noun (1)

gum·​bo ˈgəm-(ˌ)bō How to pronounce gumbo (audio)
plural gumbos
1
: a soup thickened with okra pods or filé and containing meat or seafoods and usually vegetables
2
3
a
: any of various fine-grained silty soils especially of the central U.S. that when wet become impervious and soapy or waxy and very sticky
b
: a heavy sticky mud
4
gumbo adjective

gumbo

2 of 2

noun (2)

variants or Gumbo

Examples of gumbo in a Sentence

Noun (1) drew his artistic inspiration from the city's rich gumbo of musical styles
Recent Examples on the Web
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Noun
Get the recipe 09 of 27 Chicken-Andouille Gumbo Paired with a side of roasted potatoes, this hearty chicken gumbo is hard to beat. Josh Miller, Southern Living, 10 Dec. 2024 Over the course of Kwanzaa, celebrants enjoy special foods like peanut soup, shrimp gumbo, fried bananas and sweet potato pie. Olivia Rose, The Arizona Republic, 3 Dec. 2024 Zydeco's will ladle its last bowl of gumbo in December. Bradley Hohulin, The Indianapolis Star, 12 Nov. 2024 The menu includes a chicken and waffle combo, shrimp and grits, gumbo, oxtails with sweet brown gravy, and other traditional soul food dishes. Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press, 8 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for gumbo 

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

American French gombo, of Bantu origin; akin to Umbundu ochinggômbo okra

Noun (2)

American French gombo, perhaps from Kongo nkômbô runaway slave

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1805, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1838, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gumbo was in 1805

Dictionary Entries Near gumbo

Cite this Entry

“Gumbo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gumbo. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

gumbo

noun
gum·​bo
ˈgəm-bō
plural gumbos
1
a
: okra
b
: a soup thickened with okra pods
2
: any of various silty soils that become very sticky when wet

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