tumbledown

adjective

tum·​ble·​down ˈtəm-bəl-ˈdau̇n 

: dilapidated, ramshackle

… a small hut of earth squeezed between other tumbledown houses on a filthy street …

—Grace Lin

Synonyms of tumbledown

• dilapidated
• neglected

Examples of tumbledown in a Sentence

lived alone on a tumbledown farm that had seen better days

Recent Examples on the Web

All except a few dozen hardy souls who formed the historical society and began patching the scars of this tumbledown town. — Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 22 Mar. 2024

Nick is a young father, struggling to make ends meet in his tumbledown home and feeding his family from foodbank donations. — Damon Wise, Deadline, 30 Aug. 2025

The project is in a tumbledown section of Oildale, situated between an optical lens store and aquatic pet shop. — Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2024

Just a couple minutes off Interstate 10 near Dragoon is the tumbledown terrain of Texas Canyon, where a network of easy trails has opened. — Jill Cassidy, AZCentral.com, 13 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1818, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for tumbledown

• chinatown
• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown

Kids Definition

tumbledown

adjective

tum·​ble·​down ˌtəm-bəl-ˌdau̇n 

: dilapidated

a tumbledown shack