Meaning & use

Sandbagged

verb·Advanced

Last updated

Deceived or coerced someone, often by concealing one's true strength, intentions, or position.

See it in a sentence

The negotiators felt sandbagged when the other side revealed hidden terms at the last minute.

He sandbagged his opponents in the early rounds, then played his best game when it counted.

A note on using this word

Originally meant literally to reinforce or block with sandbags; the figurative sense of deliberately misleading or underperforming for advantage arose in 20th-century American slang.

Words with a similar meaning

deceivedhoodwinkedtricked

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Another way to use it

2. verb

Protected or reinforced with bags filled with sand.

Volunteers sandbagged the riverbank ahead of the flood.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “Sandbagged”, then compare your use with the examples above.

Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.