slosh
Americanverb (used without object)
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to splash or move through water, mud, or slush.
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(of a liquid) to move about actively within a container.
verb (used with object)
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to stir or splash (something) around in a fluid.
to slosh the mop in the pail.
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to splash (liquid) clumsily or haphazardly.
She sloshed tea all over her new suit. They sloshed the paint over the wall.
noun
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watery mire or partly melted snow; slush.
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the lap or splash of liquid.
the slosh of waves against the shore.
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a small quantity of liquid.
a slosh of milk in the pail.
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a watery or weak drink.
noun
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watery mud, snow, etc
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slang a heavy blow
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the sound of splashing liquid
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a popular dance with a traditional routine of steps, kicks, and turns performed in lines
verb
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informal (tr; foll by around, on, in, etc) to throw or pour (liquid)
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informal
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to shake or stir (something) in a liquid
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(of a person) to splash (around) in water, etc
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slang (tr) to deal a heavy blow to
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informal to shake (a container of liquid) or (of liquid within a container) to be shaken
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of slosh
Explanation
When liquid things slosh, they move with a splash. If you stumble as you're carrying a cup of coffee to the table, your coffee may slosh over the edge of the cup. Only something that's wet can slosh — water might slosh around in the bottom of a leaky rowboat, and soapsuds can slosh in a bathtub when a happy kid gets in. You can slosh tea into a mug, or slosh through puddles in your rain boots. The 1800's meaning of slosh was "slush or sludge," and the Middle English definition was "muddy place," probably from a combination of slush and slop.
Vocabulary lists containing slosh
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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.
"I genuinely want a bit of The Slosh put in for Scotland," he tells BBC Scotland News.
From BBC • Sep. 17, 2025
He still considers Glasgow as "home" and hopes to be able to incorporate Scottish dances including The Slosh and the Gay Gordons into some of his routines.
From BBC • Sep. 17, 2025
Why, he was real eloquent about his blood and his ancestors and the hoary-headed Slosh.
From The Shuttle by Burnett, Frances Hodgson
Slosh, slosh, n. a watery mess.—v.i. to flounder in slush: to go about in an easy way.—adj.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various
The Doherty Slosh diminished my lead by fifteen.
From Love Among the Chickens A Story of the Haps and Mishaps on an English Chicken Farm by Both, Armand
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.
