shabby

adjective

shab·​by ˈsha-bē 

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

b

: ungenerous, unfair

… laments the shabby way in which this country often treated a poet …

—Paul Engle

c

: inferior in quality

shabby reasoning

shabbily

ˈsha-bə-lē 

adverb

shabbiness

ˈsha-bē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms of shabby

• dilapidated
• neglected

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

The Giants will almost certainly trade Luis Arraez, almost as much to solve the Casey Schmitt/Matt Chapman logjam as to get premium prospects, but the prospects shouldn’t be shabby, either. — Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 17 July 2026

The property’s dining and rooftop spaces weren’t too shabby either. — Rafael Peña, Miami Herald, 16 July 2026

The Aragon, which later generations experienced mainly as a shabby, sticky home for loud rock music, was once the North Side’s hub for romance, where young men and women came in droves to dance to mellow music in an elegant atmosphere. — Chicago Tribune, 13 July 2026

Mending — and shabby clothes in general — were no longer popular. — The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

obsolete English shab a low fellow

First Known Use

1669, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing shabby

• not (too) shabby
• shabby chic

Rhymes for shabby

• abbe
• cabbie
• cabby
• flabby
• gabby
• gaby
• scabby
• tabby

Kids 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

shabbily

ˈshab-ə-lē 

adverb

shabbiness

ˈshab-ē-nəs 

noun