sandwich
noun
two or more slices of bread with a layer of meat, fish, cheese, etc., between them.
sandwich
1 American
[sand-wich, san-]
/ ˈsænd wɪtʃ, ˈsæn- /
noun
-
sandwiches
plural
-
two or more slices of bread with a layer of meat, fish, cheese, etc., between them.
a tuna sandwich.
-
a partially slit bread roll, pita, etc., with a filling.
a falafel sandwich.
-
something resembling or suggesting a sandwich, as something in horizontal layers.
a plywood sandwich.
verb (used with object)
-
sandwiches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sandwiched,
past participle, past
-
sandwiching
present participle
-
to put into a sandwich.
-
to insert between two other things.
to sandwich a personal appointment between two business meetings.
Sandwich
2
American
[sand-wich, san-]
/ ˈsænd wɪtʃ, ˈsæn- /
noun
sandwich
British
/ ˈsænwɪdʒ, -wɪtʃ /
noun
-
two or more slices of bread, usually buttered, with a filling of meat, cheese, etc
-
anything that resembles a sandwich in arrangement
verb
-
to insert tightly between two other things
-
to put into a sandwich
-
to place between two dissimilar things
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
sandwichsimple
-
sandwichessimple
-
have sandwichedperfect
-
has sandwichedperfect
-
am sandwichingprogressive
-
are sandwichingprogressive
-
is sandwichingprogressive
-
have been sandwichingperfect progressive
-
has been sandwichingperfect progressive
Past
-
sandwichedsimple
-
had sandwichedperfect
-
was sandwichingprogressive
-
were sandwichingprogressive
-
had been sandwichingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sandwich
First recorded in 1755–65; named after the fourth Earl of Sandwich (1718–92)
Explanation
A sandwich is a meal in the form of two pieces of bread with meat, cheese, or some other filling between them. Your favorite lunch might be a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. When you put something between slices of bread, it's a sandwich. It's named for the Fourth Earl of Sandwich who's credited with inventing it. Sandwich is a verb too, that describes putting something between two other things, like sandwiching gym class between math and lunch. Sometimes sandwich involves being squeezed uncomfortably, like having to sandwich yourself between people on a crowded elevator or subway car.
Vocabulary lists containing sandwich
Commonly Misspelled Words, List 3
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
List 2
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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:
Head Chef Amy Alarcon, who developed the Popeyes chicken sandwich that became a viral sensation in 2019, the revamped Whopper is now helping propel a comeback for the chain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Unable to find someone to cover her shift, she said her part-time job in a sandwich shop was terminated.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Before Wright — who most recently was CEO of sandwich chain Potbelly and held senior roles at Wendy’s in the past — Ken Cook was interim CEO.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 8, 2026
Burn the sandwich, toast it again; scrub every plate and punch out with pride.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
At least I’d remembered to bring a sandwich today.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
Despite his reforms, however, Sandwich and his sailors couldn’t save the Colonies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026
I got a Vegan Avocado Sandwich for lunch, took an Uber home and posted a reel on Instagram about my first day on the trail.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 25, 2026
Because it was never in doubt that Sandwich Guy threw the sandwich; he admitted it to law enforcement.
From Slate ● Nov. 7, 2025
The Countess of Sandwich gets to the crux of what she sees as the Duchess of Sussex's rebrand dilemma.
From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2025
But for the first time Sandwich had struck a chord with him.
From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins
He used to order from Chick-fil-A two chicken sandwiches, four chicken strips and 10 chicken nuggets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
The shop serves single-origin coffee from Ventura’s Beacon Coffee and breakfast sandwiches featuring house-made bagels.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
The new pizza—called the Domino and shaped like one, too—aims to draw diners who might otherwise get burgers or chicken sandwiches.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
The recall includes products such as pico de gallo salsa, several types of guacamole, burritos, spicy sandwiches and fresh sliced jalapenos.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
I’d fortify myself with a stack of peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches and my notebooks for A Short History of a Small Place.
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
The ceremony took place behind an enclosure in a meadow where concertgoers streamed by, sandwiched between a space for “Freak Nature Puppets” and a pastry booth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Last year, there was one: Journalism, who sandwiched a win in the Preakness around runner-up finishes in the Derby and Belmont.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
"Mining has destroyed our region," said Salle Kumar, a 34-year-old farmer who lives in a village sandwiched between two massive mines in Rajasthan.
From Barron's ● May 31, 2026
“Michael” is bizarre because everything left unsaid still lingers between the lines, sandwiched between the formidable melodies of his greatest hits, like toxic ooze leaking out from the middle of two slices of Wonderbread.
From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2026
Right next to Layla so that they were sandwiched in between their parents.
From "Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World" by Ashley Herring Blake
Job growth averaged 150,000 to 200,000 a month in the decade sandwiching the 2020-2021 pandemic.
From MarketWatch ● May 7, 2026
Our gulab jamun ice cream cakes have become a defining product for Malai: saffron syrup–soaked cardamom cakes sandwiching our rose with Cinnamon roasted Almonds Ice Cream .
From Salon ● May 31, 2025
Washington’s Moses Wood was doing much of it in the final minutes, sandwiching a long jumper between two three-pointers as the Huskies countered every Trojans basket.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2024
Norris and Piastri had been second and fourth, sandwiching Russell, but lost their times for exceeding track limits.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2023
She clasped her free hand around mine, sandwiching my fist between her small but strong fingers.
From "I Will Always Write Back" by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda
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.
