Sloppily means doing something in a careless, messy way without paying attention to details or quality. When you write sloppily, your handwriting might be barely readable, with letters running together and words trailing off. When you eat sloppily, you might get food all over your face and shirt. When you make your bed sloppily, the blankets are twisted and the pillows are half-falling off.

The word implies that someone could have done better but didn't put in the effort. A painting finished sloppily might have paint dripping outside the lines or colors mixed carelessly. A science project assembled sloppily might have crooked labels, loose pieces, or missing information.

Sloppily is the opposite of carefully, neatly, or precisely. When a carpenter works sloppily, the boards don't line up properly. When a soccer player plays sloppily, their passes are wild and their movements are unfocused. The word often appears in feedback because teachers and coaches can see the difference between work that's genuinely difficult and work that's just rushed through without care. Taking the time to avoid working sloppily usually produces better results and saves time you'd otherwise spend fixing mistakes.