Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *slewbʰ-
Proto-Germanic *slup-?
Old English *slop
Middle English slop
English slop
From Middle English slop, sloppe, slope, from Old English *slop (found in oferslop (“an outergarment, surplice”)). Cognate with Icelandic sloppur (“a long, loose gown”).
Meanings
(not-comparable, obsolete) Being or relating to slops (cheap or ready-made clothing).
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *slewbʰ-
Proto-Germanic *slup-?
Old English *slop
Middle English slop
English slop
From Middle English slop, sloppe, slope, from Old English *slop (found in oferslop (“an outergarment, surplice”)). Cognate with Icelandic sloppur (“a long, loose gown”).
Meanings
(obsolete) A loose outer garment; a jacket or overall.
Etymology tree
Old English *sloppe
Middle English *sloppe?
English slop
Probably from Middle English *sloppe (attested in plural form sloppes), representing Old English *sloppe (attested in cūsloppe), alternative form of Old English slyppe. Related to slip.
Meanings
(uncountable) Any semisolid substance; goo, paste, pulp.
(countable, uncountable) Any semisolid substance; goo, paste, pulp. ▸ Soft, liquid mud or snow.
(countable, uncountable) Liquid carelessly spilled upon a surface; a soiled spot.
(countable, in-plural, often, uncountable) Any inferior, weak, or unappetizing drink or semi-liquid food.
The surprise is that anyone thinks cats will eat that slop 1993, Mark Evanier, “How To Drive Humans Crazy”, in Garfield & Friends, season 6, episode 9, spoken by Garfield (Lorenzo Music):
(countable, in-plural, often, uncountable) Scraps used as food for animals, especially pigs or hogs.
(countable, dated, uncountable) Human urine or excrement.
All on my dick, she won't stop, yah / I told her to give me some slop 2018, “Pull Up”, in Northsbest, performed by Lil Mosey:
(countable, derogatory, figuratively, uncountable) Content or entertainment which is worthless, or produced and consumed mindlessly.
In a night spent surfing the television “datasphere” (to use another Cyberia buzzword), you can watch slop like Knight Rider 2010 (where virtual reality is a weekly plot point) 1994 May, Heather Mackey, “You're getting colder: Cyberia presents a wide-eyed version of tech culture”, in San Francisco Bay Guardian Lit., page 7:
We don't have a half-naked, barely-sentient scream queen on the cover. We don't give a shit about big-budget Hollywood slop. We don't focus exclusively on obsessive fanboy genres. 1999, Steve Puchalski, “Editorial Ramblings”, in Shock Cinema, number 15, page 1:
(countable, derogatory, figuratively, qualifier:artificial intelligence, uncountable) Content or entertainment which is worthless, or produced and consumed mindlessly. ▸ Junk output from generative artificial intelligence published in large quantities, posing as human-made content.
Almost all of the AI-generated slop online is peddled for clicks on social media, not published by major news outlets. These publications still get tripped up, of course, but it's rare. 2024 April 4, Kim Komando, “Don't be fooled by deepfake videos and photos this election cycle. Here's how to spot AI”, in USA Today, retrieved 08 May 2024:
His post describes a sense of unease, paranoia and loneliness, expressing deep disappointment at the state of the modern internet. He suggests that AI has successfully drowned out the majority of online human activity, reshaping the internet into a more controlled, algorithmic form that exists only to sell products and ideas. 2024 January 16, Dani Di Placido, “The Dead Internet Theory, Explained”, in Forbes.com, retrieved 08 May 2024:
Watching in real time as "slop" becomes a term of art. the way that "spam" became the term for unwanted emails, "slop" is going in the dictionary as the term for unwanted AI generated content [2024 May 6, @deepfates, Twitter:
“Society needs concise ways to talk about modern A.I. — both the positives and the negatives,” he said. “‘Ignore that email, it’s spam,’ and ‘Ignore that article, it’s slop,’ are both useful lessons.” 2024 June 11, Benjamin Hoffman, quoting Simon Willison, “First Came ‘Spam.’ Now, With A.I., We’ve Got ‘Slop’”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 11 Jun 2024:
With slop, it's not so much about what the content says, or whether it's any good, than the fact that it exists and can be measured as a pageview, an ad impression, or a fake recipe book sold to a confused internet user. 2025 April 19, Jacob Silverman, “Welcome to Slop World”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 16:
In many ways, political slop is a logical end point for these image generators, which seem most useful for people trying to make a quick buck. 2024 August 21, Charlie Warzel, “The MAGA Aesthetic Is AI Slop”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 29 Aug 2024:
“Coca-Cola just put out an ad and ruined Christmas,” Dylan Pearce, one of the campaign’s many critics, said on TikTok, adding, “To put out slop like this just ruins the Christmas spirit.” 2024 November 20, Alex Vadukul, “Coca-Cola’s Holiday Ads Trade the ‘Real Thing’ for Generative A.I.”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 15 Jan 2025:
(countable, qualifier:preceded by definite article, uncountable) A dance popular in the 1960s.
Do the monkey, do the pony 1971, Loudon Wainwright III, “Suicide Song”, in Album II:
it ciofeca (inferior, weak drink or liquid food) · cmn 泔水 (inferior, weak drink or liquid food) · sv sörja (content or entertainment which is worthless) · pam kanyu (scraps which are fed to pigs) · it sbobba (scraps which are fed to pigs) · vi cám (scraps which are fed to pigs) · es bazofia (content or entertainment which is worthless) · ru по́йло (scraps which are fed to pigs) · sk splašky (domestic wastewater) · pt lavagem (scraps which are fed to pigs) · fi ruoantähteet (scraps which are fed to pigs) · hu lónyál (inferior, weak drink or liquid food) · hu moslék (scraps which are fed to pigs) · pt porcaria (content or entertainment which is worthless) · fr bouillasse (scraps which are fed to pigs) · mk помија (scraps which are fed to pigs) · hu mosogatólé (domestic wastewater) · yi פּאַמויעס (domestic wastewater) · ru каша (semi-solid substance) · pt lodo (semi-solid substance) · fr soupe (content or entertainment which is worthless) · es slop (content or entertainment which is worthless) · cs pomyje (domestic wastewater) · nl slobber (scraps which are fed to pigs) · fi muta (semi-solid substance) · hu szennyvíz (domestic wastewater) · ru по́йло (inferior, weak drink or liquid food) · sk zvyšky (scraps which are fed to pigs) · bg помия (domestic wastewater) · es puaj (semi-solid substance) · it sbobba (inferior, weak drink or liquid food) · sh pomije (scraps which are fed to pigs) · cmn 泔水 (content or entertainment which is worthless) · bg рядка кал (semi-solid substance) · ru жижа (semi-solid substance) · de Matsch (semi-solid substance) · fr bouillasse (semi-solid substance) · bg киша (semi-solid substance) · it brodaglia (inferior, weak drink or liquid food) · sv skula (scraps which are fed to pigs) · cs splašky (domestic wastewater) · es porquería (scraps which are fed to pigs) · cmn 泔水 (scraps which are fed to pigs) · sv sörja (inferior, weak drink or liquid food) · fr bouillie (content or entertainment which is worthless) · ca engrut (semi-solid substance) · sv slem (semi-solid substance) · es bazofia (scraps which are fed to pigs) · hy լափ (scraps which are fed to pigs) · ro lături (scraps which are fed to pigs) · de Schweinefutter (scraps which are fed to pigs) · cs pomyje (scraps which are fed to pigs) · fr bouillie (scraps which are fed to pigs) · hu lötty (inferior, weak drink or liquid food) · pl pomyje (scraps which are fed to pigs) · nl smurrie (semi-solid substance) · fr bouillie (semi-solid substance) · bg помия (scraps which are fed to pigs) · hu mosogatóvíz (domestic wastewater) · ca pasterada (semi-solid substance) · pt gororoba (inferior, weak drink or liquid food) · sk pomyje (scraps which are fed to pigs)
Etymology tree
Old English *sloppe
Middle English *sloppe?
English slop
Probably from Middle English *sloppe (attested in plural form sloppes), representing Old English *sloppe (attested in cūsloppe), alternative form of Old English slyppe. Related to slip.
Meanings
(transitive) To spill or dump liquid upon; to soil with a spilled liquid.
I slopped water all over my shirt.
a little Durham bull butted the pail and slopped him with the milk 1950, Howard William Troyer, The salt and the savor, page 58:
(transitive) In a game of pool or snooker, to pocket a ball by accident; in billiards, to make an ill-considered shot.
(transitive) To feed pigs.
(intransitive) To make one's way through soggy terrain.
We slopped through paddies in 100-degree-plus heat and slept with one eye open at night. 1980, The Leatherneck, volume 63, page 13:
Harry looked rather bulky, you know, Tom, and the slop (policeman) says, 'Hallo, what you got here?' and by [blank] he took us both before the beak. After hearing the slop tell his tale, he says to me: 'What do you know of this man? […] 1866 March, anonymous author, “A real casual on casual wards”, in Temple Bar: A London Magazine for Town and Country Readers, page 508:
Covey’s most stimulating impression on the sense of colour is in the blue of the police. He says he shouldn’t have thought that there were so many ‘slops’ in the world, and he seems to yield for a moment to the depressing conviction that we are too much governed. 1899, Richard Whiteing, chapter XXIV, in No. 5 John Street, page 240: