sandwich
noun
two or more slices of bread with a layer of meat, fish, cheese, etc., between them.
sandwich
1 American
[sand-wich, san-]
/ ˈsænd wɪtʃ, ˈsæn- /
noun
-
sandwiches
plural
-
two or more slices of bread with a layer of meat, fish, cheese, etc., between them.
a tuna sandwich.
-
a partially slit bread roll, pita, etc., with a filling.
a falafel sandwich.
-
something resembling or suggesting a sandwich, as something in horizontal layers.
a plywood sandwich.
verb (used with object)
-
sandwiches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sandwiched,
past participle, past
-
sandwiching
present participle
-
to put into a sandwich.
-
to insert between two other things.
to sandwich a personal appointment between two business meetings.
Sandwich
2
American
[sand-wich, san-]
/ ˈsænd wɪtʃ, ˈsæn- /
noun
sandwich
British
/ ˈsænwɪdʒ, -wɪtʃ /
noun
-
two or more slices of bread, usually buttered, with a filling of meat, cheese, etc
-
anything that resembles a sandwich in arrangement
verb
-
to insert tightly between two other things
-
to put into a sandwich
-
to place between two dissimilar things
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
sandwichsimple
-
sandwichessimple
-
have sandwichedperfect
-
has sandwichedperfect
-
am sandwichingprogressive
-
are sandwichingprogressive
-
is sandwichingprogressive
-
have been sandwichingperfect progressive
-
has been sandwichingperfect progressive
Past
-
sandwichedsimple
-
had sandwichedperfect
-
was sandwichingprogressive
-
were sandwichingprogressive
-
had been sandwichingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sandwich
First recorded in 1755–65; named after the fourth Earl of Sandwich (1718–92)
Explanation
A sandwich is a meal in the form of two pieces of bread with meat, cheese, or some other filling between them. Your favorite lunch might be a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. When you put something between slices of bread, it's a sandwich. It's named for the Fourth Earl of Sandwich who's credited with inventing it. Sandwich is a verb too, that describes putting something between two other things, like sandwiching gym class between math and lunch. Sometimes sandwich involves being squeezed uncomfortably, like having to sandwich yourself between people on a crowded elevator or subway car.
Vocabulary lists containing sandwich
Commonly Misspelled Words, List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Carl’s Jr. this summer released a Spicy Chicken Maxx sandwich.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The menu includes salt-and-pepper chicken skins with sweet-and-sour sauce and something called the Viet Dip, a sandwich served with a little cup of pho jus.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
At the Unitree booth, a robot made a sandwich with two slices of bread and a single piece of lettuce, pinching the leaf to assemble it.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Unable to find someone to cover her shift, she said her part-time job in a sandwich shop was terminated.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
One minute the boy was balling a baloney sandwich in his fist, and the next minute he was darting into the dining room, snatching a piece of lasagna out of the bus tub.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
The Portrait Gallery also has a copy of Johan Joseph Zoffany’s bust portrait of John Montague, 4th Earl of Sandwich.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026
Al Wallis, owner of the The Sandwich Bar in Looe, said the cost of living crisis had made it a challenging time but the influx of holidaymakers over the bank holiday "makes a big difference".
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
Anyway, the jury came back with a verdict of not guilty, acquitting Sandwich Guy of all charges.
From Slate ● Nov. 7, 2025
Assemble the Sandwich: On a toasted slice of sourdough, pile the giardiniera chicken salad.
From Salon ● Mar. 27, 2025
He’s moved to Ramsgate, England, a seaside town on the far east coast of England, south of Margate, north of Sandwich, near where the North Sea meets the Strait of Dover.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
It does not know where I live, what time I usually eat lunch or whether I have recently been searching for sandwiches.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
He used to order from Chick-fil-A two chicken sandwiches, four chicken strips and 10 chicken nuggets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
Chicken sandwiches, as well as chicken tenders, have become more popular in large part because they’re easier for people to eat in their cars.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
The recall includes products such as pico de gallo salsa, several types of guacamole, burritos, spicy sandwiches and fresh sliced jalapenos.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
The kids had fun, Emma and I chatted with a few more potential clients, and we got to eat leftover crab salad sandwiches.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Her village, Htomar, was sandwiched between a military base and an insurgent-controlled area.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
State regulators have launched an investigation into the incident, and some local officials have called it a wake-up call for communities like Boyle Heights, where homes are sandwiched close to industry and manufacturing districts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026
For nearly a century, the working-class population here, sandwiched between suburbs of Liverpool and Manchester, loyally voted for the Labour Party and flew firmly under the national radar.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026
The MV Hondius set sail from this spectacular Patagonian port, sandwiched between snow-capped mountains and the South Atlantic, on April 1.
From Barron's ● May 12, 2026
Around it is a web of concrete roads with buildings sandwiched between them.
From "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth
Job growth averaged 150,000 to 200,000 a month in the decade sandwiching the 2020-2021 pandemic.
From MarketWatch ● May 7, 2026
“Apartment Window” is nearly abstract, sandwiching a constellation of peeling, sun-bleached cartoon stickers between a reflected sunset and the stripes of vertical blinds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 16, 2026
Our gulab jamun ice cream cakes have become a defining product for Malai: saffron syrup–soaked cardamom cakes sandwiching our rose with Cinnamon roasted Almonds Ice Cream .
From Salon ● May 31, 2025
The second Haas of Oliver Bearman took 10th for the second race running, the two cars sandwiching the Red Bull of Yuki Tsunoda.
From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2025
I motion for Suma to remain at the back of the line, sandwiching the three of them between us.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
