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slop out

C1 neutral intransitive
In simple words

In old prisons, to take out a bucket used as a toilet and empty it

Literal meaning: To slop (spill liquid messily) out of a container

Meanings

1 C1 neutral

(Prison context) To carry and empty a bucket used as a toilet, as was required in cells without plumbing

"Prisoners in the Victorian wing still had to slop out every morning before breakfast."

Usage notes

Highly specific to the British and Irish prison context, referring to a now largely abolished practice. Also used as a noun compound ('slopping out'). Encountered mainly in journalism, prison memoirs, and historical contexts.

Commonly used with

prisoners cells bucket morning routine abolished

Forms

Base
slop out
I/you/we/they
3rd person
slops out
he/she/it
Past simple
sloped out
yesterday
Past participle
sloped out
have + pp
-ing form
sloping out
continuous

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Synonyms

empty out dispose of waste

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