variants
or catch-all
plural catchalls or catch-alls
: something designed or serving to catch, hold, account for, or include miscellaneous items or a wide variety of things
The secret weapon for battling kitchen clutter in this case is a simple tray. … The trays act as catch-alls or places to neatly store anything that gets left out.—
Marie Rossiter
Marie RossiterAfter a period of rapidly rising consumer prices, "inflation" is a catchall for economic woes.—Edward Lotterman
—often used before another nounEdward Lottermana catchall bin
… long COVID, the catchall term for the sometimes debilitating health problems that can last for months or years after even a mild case of COVID-19.—Lauran Neergaard
Lauran NeergaardExamples of catchall in a Sentence
They used the drawer as a catchall for kitchen items.
“The arts” is a catchall for a variety of activities from painting to music.
Recent Examples on the Web
Like most things on the internet, however, the term has lost most of its meaning and seems to be nothing but a catchall phrase for an artist people just don’t like.
—Carly Lewis-Oduntan, refinery29.com, 13 Mar. 2025
The ensemble isn’t quite the catchall for the sociopolitical backdrop of contemporary Western Europe, post the migrant and refugee crises of the 2010s.
—Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 15 Feb. 2025
Though many herbs are touted as superfoods with catchall health benefits, few live up to the hype.
—Audrey Noble, Vogue, 27 Jan. 2025
Executive orders are among the most prominent types of executive actions, and sometimes people use that term as a catchall for other categories of ways that presidents can exercise their control over the executive branch.
—Charlie Savage, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for catchall
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Carly Lewis-Oduntan, refinery29.com, 13 Mar. 2025
The ensemble isn’t quite the catchall for the sociopolitical backdrop of contemporary Western Europe, post the migrant and refugee crises of the 2010s.
—Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 15 Feb. 2025
Though many herbs are touted as superfoods with catchall health benefits, few live up to the hype.
—Audrey Noble, Vogue, 27 Jan. 2025
Executive orders are among the most prominent types of executive actions, and sometimes people use that term as a catchall for other categories of ways that presidents can exercise their control over the executive branch.
—Charlie Savage, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for catchall
Cite this Entry
“Catchall.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catchall. Accessed 19 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
catchall
noun
catch·all
ˈkach-ˌȯl 
ˈkech-
: something to hold a variety of odds and ends
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