Definition of "sandbag" in English

noun

1. A sturdy sack filled with sand, generally used in large numbers to make defensive walls against flooding, bullets, or shrapnel.

2. A small bag filled with sand and used as a cudgel.

3. An engraver's leather cushion, etc.

4. (poker) A deceptive play whereby a player with a strong hand bets weakly or passively.

verb

1. (transitive, intransitive) To construct a barrier of sandbags (around).

   • We sandbagged the basement windows against the floodwaters.

2. (transitive) To strike someone with a sandbag or other object to disable or render unconscious.

3. (figurative, intransitive, originally US) 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.

4. (figurative, transitive) To blindside; to deceive; to undermine.

5. (restaurant kitchen jargon, intransitive, transitive) To premake dishes (prepare them in advance) (intransitive); to premake (dishes) (transitive).

6. To pretend to drink alcohol early on so that, as the night draws on, one can drink everybody else "under the table".