gumbo

1 of 2

noun (1)

gum·​bo ˈgəm-(ˌ)bō 

plural gumbos

1

: a soup thickened with okra pods or filé and containing meat or seafoods and usually vegetables

2

: okra sense 1

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

: mixture, mélange

gumbo adjective

gumbo

2 of 2

noun (2)

variants or Gumbo

: creole sense 4a(1)

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• agglomerate
• agglomeration
• alphabet soup
• assortment
• botch
• clutter
• collage
• crazy quilt
• farrago
• gallimaufry
• grab bag
• 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 gumbo in a Sentence

Noun (1)

drew his artistic inspiration from the city's rich gumbo of musical styles

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

While pimento cheese, gumbo, and Grandma’s buttermilk biscuits will always be delicious and devoured down to the very last crumb no matter where they're served, good food is certainly more fun to eat in a beautiful space. —Cameron Beall, Southern Living, 2 Dec. 2024

The eatery quickly became renowned for its take on Cajun and Creole cuisine with dishes like boudin, frog legs, jambalaya, gumbo and all manner of fried fish. —Bradley Hohulin, The Indianapolis Star, 12 Nov. 2024

Add on quarts or gallons of chicken and sausage or seafood gumbo or red beans and rice for an extra charge. —Mackensy Lunsford, The Tennessean, 12 Nov. 2024

Breakfast cereal, plus gumbo Harris, for her part, appears to enjoy cereal for breakfast. —Peter Burke, Fox News, 8 Aug. 2024

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

Phrases Containing gumbo

• gumbo-limbo

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