slapdash
Americanadverb
adjective
adverb
adjective
noun
-
slapdash activity or work
-
another name for roughcast
Etymology
Origin of slapdash
Explanation
If you just slapped something together and then dashed when you were done, it was slapdash. The paint job was slapdash: it looked like they did it in an hour, without brushes. The meaning of the word slapdash is clear from its two parts, slap and dash. If you make something in a slapdash way, you slap it together and then dash away — probably so no one would notice. If you want something to look great and last for a long time, then take your time and do it right. If you do it in a slapdash way, you may save time in the short run. But in the long run, you'll lose much more time redoing your shoddy work.
Vocabulary lists containing slapdash
Idioms and Expressions, List 4
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!
Loser
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!
Idioms and Expressions, List 4
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
The composition of these black-and-white street photographs seems slapdash, but the images work brilliantly.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025
District Court in Boston, that had blocked the administration’s slapdash deportations while legal challenges wend through the courts.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2025
Bob’s main instrument of choice these days is a grand piano, and sometimes his execution on that is masterful, and other times it feels a little slapdash.
From Salon • Apr. 29, 2025
What cannot be explained away is the slapdash manner and lack of basic organisation that allowed rejuvenated Wolves to record a fourth straight top-flight success for the first time since January 1972.
From BBC • Apr. 13, 2025
He assumed that Lawrence, in his slapdash way with numbers, had mislaid a decimal point and meant a microcurie, a thousand times less.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
