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

From the spicy kick of gumbo to the sweet bite of a beignet, every morsel of delicious food here is a celebration of a wide variety of flavors, culture, and community. —Ronny Maye, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2025

Be sure to try the seafood gumbo, shrimp étouffée, and shrimp gumbo. —Trudy Haywood Saunders, Travel + Leisure, 2 Mar. 2025

Participants on horseback ride from town to town begging for ingredients to cook up a big batch of communal gumbo in Mamou. —Gqlshare, Orange County Register, 19 Feb. 2025

On its food menu, Folsom Tap House is serving chili cheese dogs and nachos for $10, as well as chicken gumbo for $20, $1 wings, $5 Coors Light pints, $20 Coors Light pitchers and $6 well drinks or shots. —Marcus D. Smith, Sacramento Bee, 7 Feb. 2025

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

Rhymes for gumbo

• jumbo
• columbo

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