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sandbag

[sand-bag]
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noun
  1. a bag filled with sand, used in fortification, as ballast, etc.
  2. such a bag used as a weapon.
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verb (used with object), sand·bagged, sand·bag·ging.
  1. to furnish with sandbags.
  2. to hit or stun with a sandbag.
  3. Informal.
    1. to set upon violently; attack from or as if from ambush.
    2. to coerce or intimidate, as by threats: The election committee was sandbagged into nominating the officers for a second term.
    3. to thwart or cause to fail or be rejected, especially surreptitiously or without warning: He sandbagged our proposal with his snide remarks to the boss.
    1. Poker.to deceive (one or more opponents) into remaining in the pot by refraining from betting on a strong hand, then raising the bet in a later round.
    2. Informal.to gain an advantage over (one or more competitors) by concealing one's abilities or other strengths early in a game or other competitive activity.
    3. Informal.to gain an advantage by concealing or downplaying the strengths of (something): companies that sandbag their earnings estimates and then easily beat them to make everyone happy.
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verb (used without object), sand·bagged, sand·bag·ging.
    1. Poker.to sandbag one or more opponents.
    2. Informal.to sandbag an opponent or competitor: guys that sandbag and fall back a little in the first race to get a better starting spot in the second.
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Origin of sandbag

First recorded in 1580–90; sand + bag
Related formssand·bag·ger, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

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Examples from the Web for sandbagged

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • “I thought he was dead when I saw him go down like he was sandbagged,” said the boy.

    Vistas of New York

    Brander Matthews

  • He might if he went to Chinatown and got sandbagged or something like that.

    Three Young Ranchmen

    Ralph Bonehill

  • Ive been sandbagged and robbed, and evidently sold to you for a sailor, which I am not.

    An Oregon Girl

    Alfred Ernest Rice

  • I'll be sandbagged and robbed if I go back without any for the other fellows.

    More Tish

    Mary Roberts Rinehart

  • I shouldn't be surprised if she sandbagged him and left him lying on the beach.

British Dictionary definitions for sandbagged

sandbag

noun
  1. a sack filled with sand used for protection against gunfire, floodwater, etc, or as ballast in a balloon, ship, etc
  2. a bag filled with sand and used as a weapon
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verb -bags, -bagging or -bagged (tr)
  1. to protect or strengthen with sandbags
  2. to hit with or as if with a sandbag
  3. finance to obstruct (an unwelcome takeover bid) by prolonging talks in the hope that an acceptable bidder will come forward
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Derived Formssandbagger, noun
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

Word Origin and History for sandbagged

sandbag

n.

1580s, from sand (n.) + bag (n.).

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sandbag

v.

1860, "furnish with sandbags," from sandbag (n.). Meaning "pretend weakness," 1970s perhaps is extended from poker-playing sense of "refrain from raising at the first opportunity in hopes of raising more steeply later" (1940), which perhaps is from sandbagger in the sense of "bully or ruffian who uses a sandbag as a weapon to knock his intended victim unconscious" (1882). Hence "to fell or stun with a blow from a sandbag" (1887). Related: Sandbagged; sandbagging.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper