sloppy

adjective

slop·​py ˈslä-pē 

sloppier; sloppiest

1

a

: wet so as to spatter easily : slushy

a sloppy racetrack

b

: wet or smeared with or as if with something slopped over

2

: slovenly, careless

a sloppy dresser

did sloppy work

3

: disagreeably effusive

sloppy sentimentalism

sloppily

ˈslä-pə-lē 

adverb

sloppiness noun

Synonyms

• blowsy
• blowzy
• dowdy
• frowsy
• frowzy
• slobbish
• slobby
• sloven
• slovenly
• unkempt
• untidy

Examples of sloppy in a Sentence

Your work has been very sloppy lately.

a sloppy child who always seems to have spilled something on his clothes

Recent Examples on the Web

But the Sharks fell to 0-2-0 in the preseason, thanks mainly to a sloppy second period when San Jose allowed four unanswered goals. —Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 24 Sep. 2024

After beating San Diego 5-2 on opening day in an international trip to Seoul, South Korea, the Dodgers lost the second leg of the series in a sloppy 15-11 defeat, one marred by Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s disastrous MLB debut. —Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2024

Arkansas led 7-0 after a sloppy first half by both teams. —Matt Jones, arkansasonline.com, 22 Sep. 2024

Sloppy Play All The Way Around San Francisco put up its sloppiest performance since a Week 16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens last season. —Vincent Frank, Forbes, 15 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1672, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing sloppy

• sloppy joe

Kids Definition

sloppy

adjective

slop·​py ˈsläp-ē 

sloppier; sloppiest

1

a

: wet so as to spatter easily : slushy

b

: wet with or as if with something slopped over

2

: slovenly, careless

a sloppy dresser

3

: overly sentimental

sloppily

ˈsläp-ə-lē 

adverb

sloppiness

ˈsläp-ē-nəs

noun