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
That's not too shabby, considering that battery is feeding a 750-watt rear hub motor.
—Joe Salas
april 07, New Atlas, 7 Apr. 2026
If Serena van der Woodsen had to end up with someone other than Dan Humphrey, Ryan Reynolds isn't too shabby a choice.
—Rachel Desantis, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Apr. 2026
However, the economy adding 68,000 jobs per month isn’t too shabby by some estimates.
—Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2026
In April 1951, 16-year-old Barbara Rose Johns organized a student strike to protest the shabby conditions and inadequate education at her segregated Black high school in Prince Edward County, Virginia.
—Jonathan Entin, The Conversation, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for shabby
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Joe Salas
april 07, New Atlas, 7 Apr. 2026
If Serena van der Woodsen had to end up with someone other than Dan Humphrey, Ryan Reynolds isn't too shabby a choice.
—Rachel Desantis, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Apr. 2026
However, the economy adding 68,000 jobs per month isn’t too shabby by some estimates.
—Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2026
In April 1951, 16-year-old Barbara Rose Johns organized a student strike to protest the shabby conditions and inadequate education at her segregated Black high school in Prince Edward County, Virginia.
—Jonathan Entin, The Conversation, 2 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 8 Apr. 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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