olio

[ oh-lee-oh ]
See synonyms for olio on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural o·li·os.
  1. a dish of many ingredients.

  1. a mixture of heterogeneous elements; hodgepodge.

  2. a medley or potpourri, as of musical or literary selections; miscellany.

  3. Theater.

    • a specialty act performed downstage while the upstage set is changed.

    • a performance, as a musical number, presented between scenes or acts.

    • a program of variety acts, especially the second half of a minstrel show.

Origin of olio

1
1635–45; <Spanish olla pot, stew <Latin olla, ōla pot, jar

Words that may be confused with olio

Words Nearby olio

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use olio in a sentence

  • If you could do anything at all, Hannah, you'd lead a chorus and go in the olio.

    The Happy End | Joseph Hergesheimer
  • The wheels and Ezekiel's beasts are of no value against a heavy silver olio pot.

    The Queen Pedauque | Anatole France

British Dictionary definitions for olio

olio

/ (ˈəʊlɪˌəʊ) /


nounplural olios
  1. a dish of many different ingredients

  2. a miscellany or potpourri

Origin of olio

1
C17: from Spanish olla stew, from Latin: jar

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012