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
Synonyms
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
Last summer, the energy research organization BloombergNEF predicted that Tesla could bring in $7.4 billion in charging revenue by the end of the decade, constituting some $740 million in profit—not a shabby side hustle for an auto manufacturer.
—Aarian Marshall, WIRED, 2 May 2024
Aaron Wong wasn’t too shabby either, with three hits and five RBIs.
—Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 2 May 2024
Today wasn’t too shabby for a springtime day around here, especially with the morning sunshine overhead.
—Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
Not too shabby for a first start replacing Rodgers and a second overall NFL start in a 38-20 opening victory over the Bears at Soldier Field.
—Emmett Prosser, Journal Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2024
Perennial plants, yard art and shabby chic boutique.
—Journal Sentinel, 8 Apr. 2024
Keeping her promise, Baby Doe lived in a shabby cabin near the mine decades after Horace’s death.
—Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 5 Apr. 2024
Samantha, always game, agrees, but both are dismayed when their vision of a glamorous train trip is shattered by its shabby reality (a cramped sleeper room with a scary looking toilet).
—Cady Lang, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024
His officers and local police recently raided a shabby storefront in Long Beach.
—Martin Kaste, NPR, 5 Apr. 2024
Aarian Marshall, WIRED, 2 May 2024
Aaron Wong wasn’t too shabby either, with three hits and five RBIs.
—Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 2 May 2024
Today wasn’t too shabby for a springtime day around here, especially with the morning sunshine overhead.
—Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
Not too shabby for a first start replacing Rodgers and a second overall NFL start in a 38-20 opening victory over the Bears at Soldier Field.
—Emmett Prosser, Journal Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2024
Perennial plants, yard art and shabby chic boutique.
—Journal Sentinel, 8 Apr. 2024
Keeping her promise, Baby Doe lived in a shabby cabin near the mine decades after Horace’s death.
—Jenna Thompson, Kansas City Star, 5 Apr. 2024
Samantha, always game, agrees, but both are dismayed when their vision of a glamorous train trip is shattered by its shabby reality (a cramped sleeper room with a scary looking toilet).
—Cady Lang, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024
His officers and local police recently raided a shabby storefront in Long Beach.
—Martin Kaste, NPR, 5 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shabby.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to shabby
Dictionary Entries Near shabby
Cite this Entry
“Shabby.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shabby. Accessed 7 May. 2024.
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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