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.
She created her own recipe for it and even nicknamed the dish a Bombay Sloppy Joe.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 17, 2023
He ordered a Sloppy Joe and told me that a young Latino man, a former gang member, had spoken at the service.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2023
So maybe posting Friday’s Sloppy Joe special near the Tums isn’t the best sales pitch.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 6, 2016
That’s why you’ll see dishes such as the Amritsari Keema, a mixture of ground beef and spices akin to an Asian Sloppy Joe, on the menu.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 26, 2015
Red bits of Sloppy Joe dripped from the tines.
From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds
A true garbage plate features something called Rochester hot sauce, which can best be described as a cross between bolognese and a sloppy joe, atop a cheeseburger or two.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 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.
