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
Preppy shoes announced their revival with the buzzy boat shoe resurgence of 2024, and its formal cousin, the loafer, isn’t doing too shabby either these days.
—Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 13 May 2026
All of which is well and good, but the big-picture statistical veracity starts to look a little shabby in the face of the actual end-user experience.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 11 May 2026
All four options have free trials, but even after the trials end, their monthly prices aren’t too shabby.
—Katie Decker-Jacoby, StyleCaster, 30 Apr. 2026
The finish wasn’t too shabby, either.
—Jordan Bianchi, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shabby
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Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 13 May 2026
All of which is well and good, but the big-picture statistical veracity starts to look a little shabby in the face of the actual end-user experience.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 11 May 2026
All four options have free trials, but even after the trials end, their monthly prices aren’t too shabby.
—Katie Decker-Jacoby, StyleCaster, 30 Apr. 2026
The finish wasn’t too shabby, either.
—Jordan Bianchi, New York Times, 28 Apr. 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 14 May. 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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