shabby

adjective

shab·​by ˈsha-bē How to pronounce shabby (audio)
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 compromisesNat Hentoff
b
: ungenerous, unfair
laments the shabby way in which this country often treated a poetPaul Engle
c
: inferior in quality
shabby reasoning
shabbily adverb
shabbiness noun

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
His lightning guitar work — alongside a mandolinist, fiddler, upright-bassist and banjo player who are not too shabby on their respective strings themselves — delivered a rollicking half-hour that gave the fans in the bleachers plenty to dance to. Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 21 Sep. 2025 Running back D'Andre Swift hasn't been too shabby either. Robert Marvi, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025 Not a shabby blast for a fashion mag right out of the starting gate, but then again, 72 isn’t just any mag. Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025 Meg lived in a somewhat offbeat district, but the tall shabby houses, some of them painted in garish colours, were soon left behind and gave place to discreetly glistening cream or white facades behind one of which Leonora lived. Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for shabby

Word History

Etymology

obsolete English shab a low fellow

First Known Use

1669, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of shabby was in 1669

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Cite this Entry

“Shabby.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shabby. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

shabby

adjective
shab·​by ˈshab-ē How to pronounce shabby (audio)
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 adverb
shabbiness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on shabby

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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