sloppy
Americanadjective
-
muddy, slushy, or very wet.
The field was a sloppy mess after the rain.
-
splashed or soiled with liquid.
- Synonyms:
- messy
-
careless; loose.
sloppy writing.
- Synonyms:
- slipshod
-
untidy; slovenly.
sloppy clothes; a sloppy eater.
- Synonyms:
- slatternly, messy
-
overly emotional; gushy.
sloppy sentimentality.
-
(of food or drink) prepared or served in an unappetizing way.
-
(of clothes) loose-fitting; baggy.
a big, sloppy sweater.
-
(of the surface of a racetrack) wet from a recent or continuing heavy rain and containing puddles and mud still too thin and watery to be sticky.
adjective
-
(esp of ground conditions, etc) wet; slushy
-
informal careless; untidy
-
informal mawkishly sentimental
-
(of food or drink) watery and unappetizing
-
splashed with slops
-
(of clothes) loose; baggy
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of sloppy
Explanation
Sloppy means "untidy" or "messy." If your bedroom has clothes all over the floor, it's sloppy. And, if you end up with food all over your shirt every time you eat something, you're sloppy. Besides "out of order" or "not clean," sloppy can also mean "careless" or "overemotional." So you might do a sloppy job on an important paper for school. Or you might go to a sad movie and cry while you watch it, even though you know it's sloppy and sentimental. The original 18th century meaning of this adjective was simply "muddy." And before it meant "ground beef sandwich on a bun," a sloppy joe was a "loose, messy sweater."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A Brave win had seemed unlikely for much of the evening after a sloppy fielding display in which they dropped a string of catches, including that of Voll in Bell's opening set.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Unerringly, they blame a sloppy and careless press or an ignorant public for failing to understand.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
The mess of her is actually me, because I’m a little bit sloppy as a person.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2026
Customers will be limited to three of the sloppy burgers while supplies last.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026
So I tarof, which is good manners, pick up the sloppy sandwich, and smile and go, “Mmm, that’s good. Really tasty.”
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
But if the early results—and my own scrolling habits—are anything to go by, it’s about to get a lot sloppier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2025
Riley couldn’t have drawn up a sloppier start.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2025
This boosts the formation of the collagen network, but also results in a sloppier, less optimal collagen network.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 8, 2024
They couldn’t have been much sloppier on Christmas Day.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 25, 2023
The more Tom Bolles bellowed at them through his megaphone, the sloppier they seemed to get.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Corrain also admitted to making up "the world's sloppiest chat with a non-existent friend who was supposedly to blame, and sent fake apologies for the actions of said 'friend,' which only made things worse."
From Salon ● Dec. 13, 2023
Charlotte Towner said of her American bully XL Coco: "She's just the sloppiest, dopiest dog I've ever owned. She's great with other people, her only downside is she gets excited when she sees people."
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2023
The game, played in sloppy conditions, started in the sloppiest of fashions, as the teams combined for 12 penalties in the first half, including seven in the first six minutes.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 21, 2022
The sloppiest Washington’s offense has looked came in late November when the team lost four of five games.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 2, 2021
He was the sloppiest painter I have ever seen.
From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
