What does "sandbag" mean?
A sturdy sack filled with sand, generally used in large numbers to make defensive walls against flooding, bullets, or shrapnel.
Sandbag
/ˈsændˌbæɡ/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A sturdy sack filled with sand, generally used in large numbers to make defensive walls against flooding, bullets, or shrapnel.
- Grammar: sandbag is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: airship, ballast, blackjack, bob.
- Useful contrasts: empty bag, expose, overperform.
- Usage evidence: We sandbagged the basement windows against the floodwaters.
How to use "sandbag"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "sandbag" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "sandbag" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "sandbag" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "sandbag" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "sandbag" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "airship" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "sandbag", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A sturdy sack filled with sand, generally used in large numbers to make defensive walls against flooding, bullets, or shrapnel.
- 2 a bag filled with sand; used as a weapon or to build walls or as ballast wordnet
- 3 A small bag filled with sand and used as a cudgel.
- 4 An engraver's leather cushion, etc.
- 5 A deceptive play whereby a player with a strong hand bets weakly or passively.
Verb
- 1 To construct a barrier of sandbags (around). intransitive, transitive
"We sandbagged the basement windows against the floodwaters."
- 2 protect or strengthen with sandbags; stop up wordnet
- 3 To strike someone with a sandbag or other object to disable or render unconscious. transitive
- 4 downplay one's ability (towards others) in a game in order to deceive, as in gambling wordnet
- 5 To conceal or misrepresent one's true position, potential, or intent in order to gain an advantage; (originally poker) to pretend to have a weak hand, as a strategy. figuratively, intransitive
"Some felt that Roberts was sandbagging, because his mastery of the 250s wasn't really showing in practice or the heat."
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 hit something or somebody as if with a sandbag wordnet
- 7 To blindside; to deceive; to undermine. figuratively, transitive
"“Sandbagged” was used by George Bush in response to the charges of stiffing. “We feel we were sandbagged,” he said, repeating the slang verb used first by his New Hampshire campaign manager. Concurrently, Joe Scott wrote in his newsletter, “The Political Animal,” that Governor Jerry Brown was “sandbagging Kennedy's surge.”"
- 8 compel by coercion, threats, or crude means wordnet
- 9 To premake dishes (prepare them in advance) (intransitive); to premake (dishes) (transitive). intransitive, transitive
- 10 treat harshly or unfairly wordnet
- 11 To pretend to drink alcohol early on so that, as the night draws on, one can drink everybody else "under the table".
Antonyms
Example
"We sandbagged the basement windows against the floodwaters."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "sandbag"?
Common synonyms include: airship, ballast, blackjack, bob, club, cudgel.
How do you use "sandbag" in a sentence?
We sandbagged the basement windows against the floodwaters.
How do you pronounce "sandbag"?
Pronounced /ˈsændˌbæɡ/.
Etymology
From sand + bag.