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slop

noun · verb

Simple meaning

Weak or watery unappetizing food or drink.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

slahp
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈslɑp

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. usually plural

    Weak or watery unappetizing food or drink

    “He lived on the thin slops that food kitchens provided.”

  2. chiefly in the plural

    Inferior, weak drink or semi-liquid food.

  3. uncountable

    Semi-solid-like substance; goo, paste, mud, pulp.

  4. sometimes in the plural

    Scraps used as food for animals, especially pigs or hogs.

  5. Liquid carelessly spilled upon a surface; a soiled spot.

  6. preceded by definite article

    A dance popular in the 1960s.

verb

  1. transitive

    To spill or dump liquid upon; to soil with a spilled liquid.

  2. transitive

    To feed pigs.

  3. intransitive

    To make one's way through soggy terrain.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Frequency
Rare

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Weak or watery unappetizing food or drink

Used this way, slop is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Heard in a sentence
“He lived on the thin slops that food kitchens provided.”
Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Usage note

It most often appears in the pattern “slop that …”, which is worth copying when you use it.

Natural pattern: slop that …

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use slop

  • “He lived on the thin slops that food kitchens provided.”noun
  • “She carried out the sink slops.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

slop bucketslop jarslop sinkslop chestslop pailslop tankslop refreshslop water

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • slop pailnounCompound term

    A large pail used to receive waste water from a washbasin or chamber pot.

  • slop-sellernounCompound term

    A dealer in cheap ready-made clothing.

  • sloping troughnounCompound term

    Sloping channel through which things can descend.

  • slop basinnounCompound term

    A bowl into which the dregs of teacups and coffee cups are emptied at the table.

  • slop bowlnounCompound term

    A bowl into which the dregs of teacups and coffee cups are emptied at the table.

  • slop chestnounCompound term

    Commissary maintained aboard merchant ships to sell merchandise to the crew.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.