How to Use sloppy joe in a Sentence

sloppy joe

noun
  • Fans of sloppy joes will love this big batch version.
    — Josh Miller, Southern Living, 6 Mar. 2026
  • Traditional sloppy joes are way too sweet and ketchup-y for my taste.
    — ABC News, 2 Mar. 2026
  • The sloppy joe is the most famous one, but the bok choy is phenomenal, too.
    — New York Times, 17 Dec. 2021
  • Go for a sloppy Joe or the brisket stew, or pick up a family-pack dinner.
    — Robert Philpot and Bud Kennedy, star-telegram, 16 Apr. 2018
  • The sloppy joe consistency for this recipe needed to be thick, not soupy.
    — Darlene Zimmerman, Detroit Free Press, 24 Jan. 2020
  • Sloppy Joes take the traditional sloppy joe and kick them up a notch.
    — Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 14 June 2023
  • Sloppy Joes take the traditional sloppy joe and kick them up a notch.
    — Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 14 June 2023
  • Here, the sloppy Joe gets a fresh take with a bounty of late-summer vegetables, fresh tomatoes and spices.
    — Anna Thomas Bates, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 12 Sep. 2017
  • For a food so monochromatic, the sloppy Joe inspires such vivid memories.
    — Alex Delany, Bon Appetit, 6 Mar. 2017
  • Nobody can resist a saucy, savory sloppy joe, but you're bound to leave a sloppy joe meal with at least one article of clothing stained.
    — Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 22 Dec. 2025
  • Nobody can resist a saucy, savory sloppy joe, but you're bound to leave a sloppy joe meal with at least one article of clothing stained.
    — Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 22 May 2026
  • That includes the vegan tamales, a vegetable pot pie, veggie sloppy joe, a vegan curry, and a chili.
    — Kristine M. Kierzek, Journal Sentinel, 8 Mar. 2023
  • In each were three cans of sloppy joe mix, a few protein bars, a bag of instant potatoes and three single-serving cups of applesauce or pineapple.
    — Anne Saker, Cincinnati.com, 24 Apr. 2020
  • For many adults who grew up in the '80s and '90s, one meal that embodies the essence of food nostalgia has to be the sloppy joe.
    — Kyle J. Russell, USA TODAY, 21 Apr. 2024
  • This 5-ingredient casserole features convenient, frozen hash brown potatoes, a can of sloppy joe sauce, and can of chili.
    — Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 22 May 2026
  • This 5-ingredient casserole features convenient, frozen hash brown potatoes, a can of sloppy joe sauce, and can of chili.
    — Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 22 Dec. 2025
  • Elevate the school lunch favorite to a family-friendly, dinner-worthy sloppy joe casserole.
    — Paige Grandjean, Southern Living, 25 Dec. 2023
  • Picadillo, a main course usually made with ground beef, tomatoes, olives and capers, could be described as a sloppy joe with a Spanish accent.
    — Faye Levy, Oc Register, 9 Sep. 2025
  • Spaghetti Bolognese turned an Italian standby into a sloppy Joe with noodles.
    — Mike Sutter, ExpressNews.com, 21 Nov. 2019
  • And that mess is what drove senior food editor Rick Martinez to develop the ultimate sloppy Joe recipe.
    — Alex Delany, Bon Appetit, 6 Mar. 2017
  • But Farley’s, with an all-slop menu and retro stylings, makes the most impassioned argument yet for the sloppy joe’s reconsideration.
    — Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2025
  • As for how to use those cubes, thaw a cube or two overnight in the fridge, then stir it into soups, stews, salad dressings, tomato sauces, sloppy joes, egg scrambles, mayonnaise, or ketchup to amp up the flavor.
    — Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Dec. 2025
  • Their menu also includes a variety of sliders like sloppy joe sliders and chicken and waffle sliders and sides like mac 'n cheese nibblers, chicken rings, corn dog nibblers, and french fries.
    — Fox 35 News Staff, FOX 35 Orlando, 23 Mar. 2021
  • Expect items from the truck's Asian-fusion menu, including a classic pork belly bao and vegan sloppy joe made with jackfruit, along with several new bao creations, small plates and soups.
    — Marcy De Luna, Houston Chronicle, 21 Aug. 2019
  • The sloppy joe is an unsung icon of Americana cooking, several rungs down the ladder of respectability from its more celebrated quick-serve cousins, such as the hamburger and the chili dog.
    — Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2025
  • From fighting over the Zagat's restaurant guide as Bev and Hank, to singing about a lunch lady and a lovestruck sloppy joe, the duo seemed unstoppable in the early '90s.
    — Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, 27 May 2019
  • Beyond Sausage paired perfectly with the pungent red curry paste in this rice cake stir-fry, and swapping in Impossible Beef was unnoticeable in these spicy-sweet gochujang sloppy joes.
    — Rebecca Gorena, Bon Appétit, 13 Aug. 2024
  • Admittedly an overly sentimental person, Kemper said the busy shooting schedule for the final episode didn't leave too much room to absorb the finality of it all — save, of course, for the sloppy Joe helping at craft service.
    — Yvonne Villarreal, latimes.com, 7 June 2019
  • Examples include sloppy joes, lasagna, chili and meatballs, according to Corilyn Shropshire at Cook’s Illustrated.
    — Becky Krystal, Washington Post, 31 Oct. 2023
  • There will be 12-hour Korean barbecue pulled pork and chicken sliders, as well as Japanese-style sloppy joes, made with a 50/50 beef and veggie ratio tossed in hoisin, plum bitters and Japanese barbecue sauce.
    — Rachel Bernhard, jsonline.com, 12 Nov. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sloppy joe.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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