sloppy
Americanadjective
-
sloppier,
comparative
-
sloppiest
superlative
-
muddy, slushy, or very wet.
The field was a sloppy mess after the rain.
-
splashed or soiled with liquid.
- Synonyms:
- messy
-
careless; loose.
sloppy writing.
- Synonyms:
- slipshod
-
untidy; slovenly.
sloppy clothes; a sloppy eater.
- Synonyms:
- slatternly, messy
-
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.
adjective
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(esp of ground conditions, etc) wet; slushy
-
informal careless; untidy
-
informal mawkishly sentimental
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(of food or drink) watery and unappetizing
-
splashed with slops
-
(of clothes) loose; baggy
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of sloppy
Explanation
Sloppy means "untidy" or "messy." If your bedroom has clothes all over the floor, it's sloppy. And, if you end up with food all over your shirt every time you eat something, you're sloppy. Besides "out of order" or "not clean," sloppy can also mean "careless" or "overemotional." So you might do a sloppy job on an important paper for school. Or you might go to a sad movie and cry while you watch it, even though you know it's sloppy and sentimental. The original 18th century meaning of this adjective was simply "muddy." And before it meant "ground beef sandwich on a bun," a sloppy joe was a "loose, messy sweater."
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:
If a claim is substantiated, the plagiarist is seen as sloppy or lazy at best, and fundamentally dishonest at worst.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
The movie can sometimes feel purposefully sloppy but somehow it’s never slapdash.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
And sloppy thinking does not help lead us to a speedy resolution of Social Security’s financial challenges.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
As much as I wanted to hop on a plane from New York City to try it, my editor and I settled on a shorter trek, to New Jersey, to start with its sloppy joe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
My stomach couldn’t handle any more sloppy regurgitated joes.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
But if the early results—and my own scrolling habits—are anything to go by, it’s about to get a lot sloppier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2025
Riley couldn’t have drawn up a sloppier start.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2025
This boosts the formation of the collagen network, but also results in a sloppier, less optimal collagen network.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 8, 2024
They couldn’t have been much sloppier on Christmas Day.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 25, 2023
The more Tom Bolles bellowed at them through his megaphone, the sloppier they seemed to get.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Corrain also admitted to making up "the world's sloppiest chat with a non-existent friend who was supposedly to blame, and sent fake apologies for the actions of said 'friend,' which only made things worse."
From Salon ● Dec. 13, 2023
Charlotte Towner said of her American bully XL Coco: "She's just the sloppiest, dopiest dog I've ever owned. She's great with other people, her only downside is she gets excited when she sees people."
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2023
The game, played in sloppy conditions, started in the sloppiest of fashions, as the teams combined for 12 penalties in the first half, including seven in the first six minutes.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 21, 2022
The sloppiest Washington’s offense has looked came in late November when the team lost four of five games.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 2, 2021
Sam, I noted, never took his eyes off ours, which was unfortunate since it was by far the sloppiest of the lot.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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.
