sloppy
Americanadjective
-
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
-
(esp of ground conditions, etc) wet; slushy
-
informal careless; untidy
-
informal mawkishly sentimental
-
(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:
“It has been sloppy two of the last three games,” Roberts said of the errors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
Unerringly, they blame a sloppy and careless press or an ignorant public for failing to understand.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
New Zealand were also uncharacteristically sloppy, missing five chances in the field.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
The mess of her is actually me, because I’m a little bit sloppy as a person.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2026
“Jane, this is sloppy work. Watch your trigger squeeze, girl. An inch isn't such a big deal at close range, but with a rifle that inch becomes several feet.”
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
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
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
Magnificently refined in his prime, sloppier in his later years.
From New York Times ● Dec. 9, 2022
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
That isn’t the case against bad teams such as the Sharks, Ducks and Blackhawks, whom the Kraken have already defeated 8-5, 5-4 and 8-5 respectively in some of their sloppiest games this season.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 21, 2023
Somehow, though, Adon’s erraticness wasn’t the sloppiest part of Thursday’s loss.
From Washington Times ● May 12, 2022
I slap it, but she pulls me across her lap and plants the longest, sloppiest kiss on my cheek, like she would do when I was little.
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
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.
