slop

¹ American  

[slop] / slɒp /

verb (used with object)

slopped, slopping

1. to spill or splash (liquid).

2. to spill liquid upon.

   Synonyms:

   spatter, slosh, splash

3. to feed slop to (pigs or other livestock).

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verb (used without object)

slopped, slopping

1. to spill or splash liquid (sometimes followed byabout ).

   The children happily slopped about in the puddles.

2. (of liquid) to spill or splash out of a container (usually followed byover ).

   The milk slopped over the rim of the glass.

3. to walk or go through mud, slush, or water.

4. Informal. to be unduly effusive or sentimental; gush (usually followed byover ).

5. to move in an idle, lazy, casual, or slovenly manner (usually followed by around orabout ).

   to spend the weekend slopping around the house.

noun

1. a quantity of liquid carelessly spilled or splashed about.

2. badly cooked or unappetizing food or drink.

3. bran from bolted cornmeal mixed with an equal part of water and used as a feed for swine and other livestock.

4. any similar, watery feed; swill.

5. Often slops

   1. the dirty water, liquid refuse, etc., of a household or the like.

   2. tasteless or unappetizing soup, stew, or drink.

6. kitchen refuse; swill.

7. liquid mud.

8. Distilling. slops, the mash remaining after distilling.

9. Informal. media (especially online content) having poor quality or no originality.

slop ² American  

[slop] / slɒp /

noun

1. slops,

   1. clothing, bedding, etc., supplied to sailors from the ship's stores.

   2. cheap, ready-made clothing in general.

   3. short, baggy trousers, worn by men, especially sailors, in the 16th and 17th centuries.

2. a loose-fitting overgarment, as a tunic or smock.

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slop ¹ British  

/ slɒp /

verb

1. to cause (liquid) to splash or spill or (of liquid) to splash or spill

2. (tr) to splash liquid upon

3. (intr; foll by along, through, etc) to tramp (through) mud or slush

4. (tr) to feed slop or swill to

   to slop the pigs

5. (tr) to ladle or serve, esp clumsily

6. informal to be unpleasantly effusive

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noun

1. a puddle of spilt liquid

2. (plural) wet feed, esp for pigs, made from kitchen waste, etc

3. (plural) waste food or liquid refuse

4. (plural) the beer, cider, etc, spilt from a barrel while being drawn

5. (often plural) the residue left after spirits have been distilled

6. informal (often plural) liquid or semiliquid food of low quality

7. soft mud, snow, etc

8. informal gushing speech or writing

slop ² British  

/ slɒp /

noun

1. (plural) sailors' clothing and bedding issued from a ship's stores

2. any loose article of clothing, esp a smock

3. (plural) men's wide knee breeches worn in the 16th century

4. (plural) shoddy manufactured clothing

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Other Word Forms

• unslopped
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of slop¹

First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English noun sloppe “mud hole,” Old English -sloppe (in cūsloppe cowslip, literally, “cow slime”); akin to slip ³; the verb is derivative of the noun

Origin of slop²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English slop(pe), slope “loose outer garment,” Old English -slop (in oferslop “overgarment, surplice”); compare Middle Dutch overslop, Old Norse yfirsloppr

Explanation

Sticky or squishy mud (or food that's just about as appetizing) is slop. You'll want to wear your tall rubber boots if you're going to walk through the slop on the way to the bus stop. Farmers feed their pigs slop, a messy, wet mix of various leftovers—and when they do, they can say they slop the pigs. A derogatory way to talk about food that doesn't look very tasty is to call it slop. And you can call sticky, overly sentimental music, writing, or films slop as well. The 15th century definition of slop was "mudhole," from the Old English cusloppe, "cow dung."

Example Sentences

Read more: Palantir posts its fastest revenue growth ever while calling out ‘AI slop’

From MarketWatch • May 5, 2026

But it was but one slop stop in his budding career.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026

Iranian state media and diplomatic accounts have leaned into their strategy, regularly posting similar so-called AI slop -- mass-produced content created by cheap artificial intelligence tools.

From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026

Contrary to popular belief, space food isn’t just freeze-dried packages or long tubes of bland, colorless and soulless slop.

From Salon • Apr. 10, 2026

We were given two buckets of slop and water.

From "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys

Related Words

• slosh