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
In London itself, meanwhile, the hottest new tech cluster is the once-shabby King's Cross area, where OpenAI and Anthropic will shortly open offices.
—Ian King, CNBC, 10 June 2026
The Tates went to a failing school, where they were bullied for their American accents and shabby clothes.
—Heidi Blake, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
As the neighborhood got shabbier, so did the motel.
—Max Kutner, HollywoodReporter, 7 June 2026
The senior first baseman’s own stats this spring aren’t too shabby, either.
—Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 4 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for shabby
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Ian King, CNBC, 10 June 2026
The Tates went to a failing school, where they were bullied for their American accents and shabby clothes.
—Heidi Blake, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
As the neighborhood got shabbier, so did the motel.
—Max Kutner, HollywoodReporter, 7 June 2026
The senior first baseman’s own stats this spring aren’t too shabby, either.
—Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 4 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for shabby
Cite this Entry
“Shabby.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shabby. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
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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