kitchen-sink

adjective

kitch·​en-sink ˈki-chən-ˈsiŋk How to pronounce kitchen-sink (audio)
1
: being or made up of a hodgepodge of disparate elements or ingredients
2
chiefly British : portraying or emphasizing the squalid aspects of modern life
the kitchen-sink realism of contemporary British dramaCurrent Biography

Examples of kitchen-sink in a Sentence

many of the bartender's recipes are for kitchen-sink cocktails that sound like they would be a waste of good liquor
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Haptic surfaces on the steering wheel are surrounded by an everything-and-the-kitchen-sink array of buttons and switches. Basem Wasef, Robb Report, 25 Feb. 2025 Visually speaking, Jing takes an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach to collapsing the film’s human characters and its vast landscape into a single fluid entity. Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 17 Feb. 2025 Heightened by the absence of Klay Thompson’s floor-spacing, Curry has been facing kitchen-sink defenses and relying on role players to relieve the building pressure. Marcus Thompson Ii, The Athletic, 4 Jan. 2025 Being Dead do zippy low-fi kitchen-sink catchiness as well as anyone since the Guided By Voices of Bee Thousand. Rolling Stone, 28 Dec. 2024 To purist conservationists, this may look like a kitchen-sink approach. Christine Ro, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024 The pic spawned a 1982 kitchen-sink sequel that brought most of the band back together and continued the knee-slapping or face-palming punchlines, unrepentant sight gags and inexpressive line readings — fourth wall be damned. Erik Pedersen, Deadline, 26 Nov. 2024 The show, which combines kitchen-sink drama and surrealism, won the Grand Prize at the Canneseries television festival, with critics singling out Longpré’s performance for walking the line between absurd comedy and heartbreaking drama. Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 27 Mar. 2025 Trump has promised multiple executive orders on his first day, potentially on immigration, and has proposed a kitchen-sink piece of legislation that would include border issues, tax reform and energy policy. Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 7 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1954, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of kitchen-sink was in 1954

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Cite this Entry

“Kitchen-sink.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kitchen-sink. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.

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