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• Sloppy Joe
  Sloppy Joe

  noun

  a sandwich of ground beef cooked in a spicy tomato or barbecue sauce and usually served on a bun.
• sloppy joe
  sloppy joe

  noun

  a long baggy thin sweater

Sloppy Joe

American  

Also sloppy joe or sloppy Joe

noun

1. a sandwich of ground beef cooked in a spicy tomato or barbecue sauce and usually served on a bun.

2. a baggy, overlarge sweater originally worn by girls and young women in the 1940s.

3. a man or youth whose appearance is habitually slovenly.

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sloppy joe British  

/ dʒəʊ /

noun

1. informal a long baggy thin sweater

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Etymology

Origin of Sloppy Joe

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Sloppy Joe sloppy joe

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

Coffee, tea, muffins and doughnuts for early shoppers, and hot dogs, Sloppy Joe sandwiches and more about noon.

From Washington Post

Red bits of Sloppy Joe dripped from the tines.

From "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds

Staples at taverns across the state, Maid-Rites more closely resemble the sloppy joe of school lunchrooms: the ground-beef sandwiches are served on a soft bun and topped with mustard, pickles and raw onions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

The menu at Table 219 was a mélange of fun twists on classic dishes; duck confit nachos and sloppy joe sliders, for instance.

From Seattle Times ● May 24, 2023

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

I hope it’s sloppy joe day in the cafeteria.

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila