shabbier; shabbiest
1
: clothed with worn or seedy garments
a shabby hobo
2
a
: threadbare and faded from wear
a shabby sofa
b
: ill-kept : dilapidated
a shabby neighborhood
3
a
: mean, despicable, contemptible
… must feel shabby … because of his compromises …—
Nat Hentoff
Nat Hentoff
b
: ungenerous, unfair
… laments the shabby way in which this country often treated a poet …—Paul Engle
Paul Engle
c
: inferior in quality
shabby reasoning
Examples of shabby in a Sentence
The furniture was old and shabby.
He wore a shabby coat.
Her first apartment was pretty shabby.
They complained about the shabby treatment they received at the hotel.
Backing out of the deal was a shabby thing to do.
Recent Examples on the Web
Not too shabby for the sophomore.
—Grace Raynor, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2025
Not too shabby for a 37-year-old who nearly left in the offseason for the Raiders or Giants and missed a month of camp with a back issue.
—Cam Inman, Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2025
That’s not too shabby for finger food that comes together in less than 20 minutes.
—Brennan Long, Southern Living, 8 Nov. 2025
Luxury brands have sought to distance themselves from the increasingly shabby in-store experience and ubiquitous mark-downs at department stores.
—Phil Wahba, Fortune, 7 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shabby
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Grace Raynor, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2025
Not too shabby for a 37-year-old who nearly left in the offseason for the Raiders or Giants and missed a month of camp with a back issue.
—Cam Inman, Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2025
That’s not too shabby for finger food that comes together in less than 20 minutes.
—Brennan Long, Southern Living, 8 Nov. 2025
Luxury brands have sought to distance themselves from the increasingly shabby in-store experience and ubiquitous mark-downs at department stores.
—Phil Wahba, Fortune, 7 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shabby
Cite this Entry
“Shabby.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shabby. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
shabby
adjective
shab·by
ˈshab-ē 
shabbier; shabbiest
1
: dressed in worn clothes
2
a
: worn and faded from wear
a shabby sofa
b
: ill kept : dilapidated
shabby houses
3
: not fair or generous
shabby treatment
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