sloppy

[ slop-ee ]

/ ˈslɒp i /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sloppy ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, slop·pi·er, slop·pi·est.

muddy, slushy, or very wet: The field was a sloppy mess after the rain.

splashed or soiled with liquid.

careless; loose: sloppy writing.

untidy; slovenly: sloppy clothes; a sloppy eater.

overly emotional; gushy: sloppy sentimentality.

(of food or drink) prepared or served in an unappetizing way.

(of clothes) loose-fitting; baggy: a big, sloppy sweater.

(of the surface of a racetrack) wet from a recent or continuing heavy rain and containing puddles and mud still too thin and watery to be sticky.

Nearby words

Origin of sloppy

First recorded in 1700–10; slop¹ + -y¹

SYNONYMS FOR sloppy

2, 4. messy. 3. slipshod. 4. slatternly.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sloppy ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsslop·pi·ly, adverbslop·pi·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sloppy

He catalogues the sloppy flow of outside money and its failures to transform the country.
Confronting George Clooney’s Critics on South Sudan|John Avlon|October 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I mean, it shouldn't be sloppy work; it shouldn't be bad procurement process.
Ron Paul Dons 9/11 Truther Tin Foil|Olivia Nuzzi|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Some of the stuff has been so shoddy and so sloppy that our soldiers are over there dying in the shower from electrocution.
Ron Paul Dons 9/11 Truther Tin Foil|Olivia Nuzzi|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There are two separate crises that Republicans (and sloppy liberals) are conflating for political reasons.
The So-Called Immigration Border Crisis Is Neither|Sally Kohn|July 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The Chairman, the new book about disgraced former Florida Republican Party chairman Jim Greer, is a sloppy, ugly mess.
The Messy, Sordid Story of Jim Greer, Charlie Crist’s Man to a Fault|Rick Wilson|June 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This tickled Mr. Sloppy as an extraordinarily good joke, and he threw back his head and laughed with measureless enjoyment.
Ten Girls from Dickens|Kate Dickinson Sweetser
Friday, the 4th of April, was a sloppy day, and just before sundown we heard firing off towards Sherman's division.
"Shiloh" as Seen by a Private Soldier|Warren Olney
Sloppy's feelings obliged him to squeeze his hat, and contract one leg at the knee.
Our Mutual Friend|Charles Dickens
Better one feature well explained and emphasized, than a score hurried over in a sloppy manner.
The Psychology of Salesmanship|William Walker Atkinson
They all stood around on the sloppy floor of the clay room as she undid the moist wrappings of her half-finished head.
Miss Pat at School|Pemberton Ginther

British Dictionary definitions for sloppy

sloppy

/ (ˈslɒpɪ) /

adjective -pier or -piest

(esp of ground conditions, etc) wet; slushy

informal careless; untidy

informal mawkishly sentimental

(of food or drink) watery and unappetizing

splashed with slops

(of clothes) loose; baggy

Derived Formssloppily, adverbsloppiness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for sloppy

sloppy

adj.

1727, "muddy," from slop (n.1) + -y (2). Meaning "loose, ill-fitting, slovenly" is first recorded 1825, influenced by slop (n.2). Related: Sloppily; sloppiness. Sloppy Joe was originally "loose-fitting sweater worn by girls" (1942); as a name for a kind of spiced hamburger, it is attested from 1961.

sloppy

adjective, slop·pi·er, slop·pi·est.

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Nearby words

Origin of sloppy

Examples from the Web for sloppy

sloppy

adjective -pier or -piest

sloppy