kitchen sink
English
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kitchen sink
- /ˌkɪt͡ʃ(ɪ)n ˈsɪŋk/ UK
- /ˌkɪt͡ʃ(ə)n ˈsɪŋk/ US
Rhymes with -ɪŋk
Where it comes from
The noun is derived from kitchen + sink. Sense 2.1 (“miscellaneous item or miscellany”) is probably from everything but the kitchen sink.
The adjective is derived from the noun. Sense 1 (“of or pertaining to a realist style of painting characterized by scenes of dull or untidy domestic interiors of urban working-class people”) was coined by the British art critic David Sylvester (1924–2001) in a December 1954 article entitled “The Kitchen Sink”: see the quotation.
The verb is a back-formation from kitchen-sinking (noun), which is derived from the noun.
noun kitchen sinks
- A sink in a kitchen used for washing crockery, cutlery, utensils, food, etc., and disposing of waste. The kitchen sink was piled high with dirty dishes.
- A miscellaneous item or a miscellany, especially exemplifying an indiscriminate profusion. They threw the kitchen sink at the problem, but still couldn’t fix it.
- In chained or tied to the kitchen sink, etc.: domestic chores or housework, especially when regarded as menial and tedious.
- A thing regarded as defiled due to corruption, immorality, etc. Jack used to be a clever man, though I say so who shouldn't. Government has eaten him up. All his ideas and powers of conversation—he really used to be a good talker, even to his wife, in the old days—are taken from him by this—this kitchen-sink of a Government. That's the case with every man up her
adjective
- Of or pertaining to a mid-20th-century realist style of painting in Britain characterized by scenes of dull or untidy domestic interiors such as kitchens in the homes of urban working-class people; also, of or pertaining to an artist or group of artists painting in this style. It is evident that neither objectivity nor abstraction is the aim of the young painters of the kitchen-sink school.
- Of or pertaining to a mid-20th-century (especially 1950s–1960s) genre of drama, fiction, etc., in Britain depicting the harsh lives of working-class people; also, of or pertaining to a film, novel, play, etc., of this genre.
verb kitchen sinks · kitchen sinking · kitchen sinked
- To make (something) overly complicated or elaborate; to overcomplicate, to overwork.
- To raise to (someone) unrelated complaints and other matters during an argument.
- To release (a large amount of information about the poor financial results of a company) in one go, in the hope that there will be less impact.
- To raise unrelated complaints and other matters during an argument.
Translations
Every language
noun sink in a kitchen
| Español | fregadero |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 台所の流し daidokoro no nagashi, キッチンシンク kicchin sinku |
| 中文 | 廚房水槽 /厨房水槽 chú fáng shuǐ cáo |
| हिन्दी | रसोई का बेसिन rasoī kā besin |
| Français | évier |
| Deutsch | Abwasch, Spülbecken |
| العربية | مجلى المطبخ Ḥawḍ al-maṭbakh |
noun miscellaneous item or miscellany — see also miscellany
| Français | bric-à-brac, fourre-tout, n'importe quoi, pot-pourri, tout-venant |
|---|---|
| Русский | всякая всячина vsjakaja vsjačina |
Talk about this word "kitchen sink." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/kitchen%20sink. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. kitchen sink. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/kitchen%20sink "kitchen sink." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/kitchen%20sink.Cite this
@misc{kitchen_sink_2026,
title = {kitchen sink},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/kitchen%20sink},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
