slipshod

adjective

slip·​shod ˈslip-ˈshäd How to pronounce slipshod (audio)
1
a
: wearing loose shoes or slippers
b
: down at the heel : shabby
2

Did you know?

The word shod is the past tense form of the verb shoe, meaning "to furnish with a shoe"; hence, we can speak of shoeing horses and horses that have been shod or shodden. When the word slipshod was first used in the late 1500s, it meant "wearing loose shoes or slippers"—such slippers were once called slip-shoes—and later it was used to describe shoes that were falling apart. By the early 1800s, slipshod was used more generally as a synonym for shabby—in 1818, Sir Walter Scott wrote about "the half-bound and slip-shod volumes of the circulating library." The association with shabbiness then shifted to an association with sloppiness, and the word was used to mean "careless" or "slovenly."

Examples of slipshod in a Sentence

He did a slipshod job. Her scholarship is slipshod at best.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In other words, the track was intentionally slipshod. Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2025 Saturday's game was a low point, as the Mets lost 7-4 to the Milwaukee Brewers after a four-run seventh inning that was aided by some slipshod defense. Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Aug. 2025 Musk has become a bogeyman for Democrats, who say his cuts to government are slipshod and putting Americans at risk. Tara Suter, The Hill, 19 Mar. 2025 Republican poll watching during the 2020 Presidential election was something of a slipshod endeavor, more of a last-minute suggestion than a concerted effort; this year, the R.N.C. and the Trump campaign celebrated National Poll Watcher Week. Antonia Hitchens, The New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2024 See All Example Sentences for slipshod

Word History

Etymology

slip entry 1 + shod

First Known Use

1580, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of slipshod was in 1580

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Cite this Entry

“Slipshod.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slipshod. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

slipshod

adjective
slip·​shod ˈslip-ˈshäd How to pronounce slipshod (audio)
: very careless : slovenly

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