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
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Idioms and Expressions, List 4
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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.
The current plan for infrastructure improvements and slapdash redecorating at the cost of $250 million.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
The podcast has expanded from a slapdash recording in their producer’s apartment into a slickly produced iHeartMedia show with a star-studded annual TV special.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
Church scorned French Impressionism as slapdash, and Ms. Johnson suggests that his work became less popular simply because it was superseded by a more innovative style.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
Root and Head elevated themselves above the rest and Michael Neser took 4-60 in an improved Australia bowling performance, but England were slapdash with the ball and Smith's dismissal was atrocious.
From BBC ● Jan. 5, 2026
The staff did not greet the Joliots’ achievement as joyously as Madame Curie, for the discovery was another reproach to their slapdash methodology.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
