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.
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
Some of their more adventurous flavors include Philly cheesesteak, tomato basil, sloppy joe and tater tot hotdish.
From Washington Times • Apr. 6, 2015
I hope it’s sloppy joe day in the cafeteria.
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
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.
