assortment

assortment — noun

1. a mixed set of things, or sometimes people, that are similar in one way but diff

1.nounB2
Definition

a mixed set of things, or sometimes people, that are similar in one way but different in shape, size, colour, type, or background.

Example

The bakery window held an assortment of fresh breads, sweet pastries, and small cakes.

assortment of + list of related items

Amara's grandmother kept a wide assortment of buttons in an old biscuit tin.

collocation: wide assortment of

Common collocations
  • wide assortment of
  • large assortment of
  • mixed assortment of
  • colourful assortment of
  • strange assortment of
  • an assortment of flavours
  • an assortment of styles
Synonyms
  • selection

    more neutral; suggests items chosen on purpose, while 'assortment' often implies a casual mix

  • variety

    focuses on the range of types; 'assortment' focuses on the physical group of items

  • mix

    informal; shorter and less specific about kind or category

  • collection

    broader; can be a single set of related items, while 'assortment' stresses difference within the set

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

assortment of + plural noun

wide/large/mixed assortment of

Usage Note

Almost always followed by 'of' + a plural or uncountable noun. Common adjectives in front signal how mixed the group is: 'wide', 'large', 'broad', 'mixed', 'colourful', 'strange', 'odd'. When applied to people, it usually carries a hint of surprise at how varied the group is.

Common Mistakes

She bought an assortment of cheese.
She bought an assortment of cheeses.
the noun after 'of' is normally plural because the meaning is several different kinds.
There were many assortments of books on the shelf.
There was a wide assortment of books on the shelf.
one mixed group is one assortment; vary the adjective instead of pluralising.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All five words point at a group of things, but the angle differs. 'Assortment' stresses that the items in front of you are clearly of different kinds — a baker's tray, a button tin, a bowl of mixed nuts. 'Selection' suggests someone deliberately picked the items, often to offer a choice, so a shop talks about its 'selection' of wines. 'Variety' is more abstract; it names the range of types ('a variety of styles') rather than the physical pile. 'Collection' is the broadest and can describe items gathered together for any reason — a stamp collection, a poetry collection — and the items may all be the same kind. 'Mix' is informal and short, common in everyday speech and food contexts ('a mix of nuts'). In a bakery you would naturally say 'an assortment of pastries', a 'selection of pastries' if the staff curated it, but only 'a collection of pastries' if you were oddly treating them as a set to display.

assortment ↗selection ↗variety ↗collection ↗mix ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • assortment of styles
  • assortment of flavours
  • assortment of items
  • assortment of guests
  • assortment of colours

Phrases

  • a wide assortment of
  • a large assortment of
  • a mixed assortment of
  • an odd assortment of
  • a colourful assortment of

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchFrenchEnglish

Borrowed in the late 1500s from French 'assortiment', built on the verb 'assortir' meaning to arrange items by sort or kind. The French verb itself joined the prefix 'a-' (towards) with 'sorte' (sort, type), from Latin 'sortem' (lot, category). The English noun first named the act of sorting goods, and from the 1700s shifted to its modern meaning: the mixed group of goods that results from such sorting, especially in trade and shop displays.