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
On the one hand, this is simply the essence of middle England: rueful, reduced, shabby, and funny-sad in a Larkinesque way.
—James Wood, New Yorker, 14 July 2025
The roughing continues in the shabby apartment of Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), the reporter for the Daily Planet who is dating her fellow newsman Clark Kent on the sly.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 8 July 2025
The truth about these shabby dealings should have consequences.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 July 2025
Their physical features can be shabby to the point of scandal: mad spacing, pagination mixups, microscopic type.
—Thomas Mallon, New Yorker, 30 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for shabby
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.
James Wood, New Yorker, 14 July 2025
The roughing continues in the shabby apartment of Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), the reporter for the Daily Planet who is dating her fellow newsman Clark Kent on the sly.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 8 July 2025
The truth about these shabby dealings should have consequences.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 July 2025
Their physical features can be shabby to the point of scandal: mad spacing, pagination mixups, microscopic type.
—Thomas Mallon, New Yorker, 30 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for shabby
Cite this Entry
“Shabby.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shabby. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share