sandwich
1 Americannoun
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two or more slices of bread with a layer of meat, fish, cheese, etc., between them.
a tuna sandwich.
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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)
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to put into a sandwich.
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to insert between two other things.
to sandwich a personal appointment between two business meetings.
noun
noun
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two or more slices of bread, usually buttered, with a filling of meat, cheese, etc
-
anything that resembles a sandwich in arrangement
verb
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to insert tightly between two other things
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to put into a sandwich
-
to place between two dissimilar things
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sandwichsimple
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sandwichessimple
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have sandwichedperfect
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has sandwichedperfect
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am sandwichingprogressive
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are sandwichingprogressive
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is sandwichingprogressive
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have been sandwichingperfect progressive
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has been sandwichingperfect progressive
Past
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sandwichedsimple
-
had sandwichedperfect
-
was sandwichingprogressive
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were sandwichingprogressive
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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
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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.
See Examples For:
Once, he said, workers gave him a peanut butter sandwich instead, and the other time they had to go off-site to get another meal from their food provider.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
This is when Witkoff spontaneously—and fatefully—bought Trump a sandwich that changed everything.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
Jersey Mike’s, the second largest sub-style sandwich company in the U.S. by sales, behind Subway, said it has applied to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol JMKE.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
I sampled the Cubano sandwich for lunch and ordered chocolate-chip cookies to go.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
His stomach was full of sandwich and Mr. Grayson hadn’t assigned any homework.
From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold
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Sandwich chain Jersey Mike’s posted an increased profit ahead of its proposed initial public offering.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
Al Wallis, owner of the The Sandwich Bar in Looe, said the cost of living crisis had made it a challenging time but the influx of holidaymakers over the bank holiday "makes a big difference".
From BBC ● May 26, 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
We go up an aisle and grab off-brand snacks I’ve never heard of: Sour Patch Adults, Chocolate Sandwich Cookies with Cream, Rainbow-Colored Chews, and my favorite, A Chocolate Bar with Peanuts and Caramel.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
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Some customers are leaving vegetables off hamburgers and sandwiches, but people are still ordering salads.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026
“Cutting sandwiches into star shapes? That was never it for me,” she told The Wall Street Journal earlier this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
Smash burgers and chopped cheese sandwiches made from prime Angus beef.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
Everyone talks about sharing a flat with a million people, living on borrowed sandwiches — I skipped that phase.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
“You say that every time, Beans,” Kermit said, munching on the measly lunch the nickel had bought us: cracker sandwiches.
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
Burns is three shots behind on five under after starting at three over par on Friday, with overnight leader Jackson Suber, who followed his opening 65 with a 69, sandwiched between them on six under.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
The capybaras’ stretch of the Pinheiros River is a former no-man’s land; geographically, it’s in the center of the city, and yet isolated, sandwiched between an expressway’s northbound and southbound lanes.
From Slate ● May 27, 2026
The MV Hondius set sail from this spectacular Patagonian port, sandwiched between snow-capped mountains and the South Atlantic, on April 1.
From Barron's ● May 12, 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
Helen sandwiched her hands below and above her teacup.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
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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
The second Haas of Oliver Bearman took 10th for the second race running, the two cars sandwiching the Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda.
From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2025
He retired the next six, including one strikeout swinging, but ended the session by sandwiching two walks around a line-drive double.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2025
I lean close to the wall, the open door sandwiching me, touching my toes.
From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson
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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.