a sandwich of ground beef cooked in a spicy tomato or barbecue sauce and usually served on a bun.
a baggy, overlarge sweater originally worn by girls and young women in the 1940s.
a man or youth whose appearance is habitually slovenly.
First recorded in 1935–40
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I didn't grow up in a sloppy joe home.
From Salon • Jun. 9, 2021
Made with fresh new ingredients again and again in the following days, it didn’t need the pork burgers; I put it directly on the bun, like a juicy, spicy, vegetarian sloppy joe.
From New York Times • Jun. 17, 2020
Some of their more adventurous flavors include Philly cheesesteak, tomato basil, sloppy joe and tater tot hotdish.
From Washington Times • Apr. 6, 2015
There's even a vegetarian sloppy joe on the menu.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 9, 2012
“Did you get sloppy joe on your feet?”
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
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.
