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
The post has been viewed by nearly 16 million people (not too shabby for a guy just south of 80,000 followers) and had its fair share of replies, most of which were siding with Beat.
—Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 16 June 2026
Fresh walls and old trims can be a pointless exercise, as shabby trims will attract attention for all the wrong reasons.
—Sophie Flaxman, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 June 2026
Not too shabby for his first six months on the job.
—Grace Raynor, New York Times, 12 June 2026
In London itself, meanwhile, the hottest new tech cluster is the once-shabby King's Cross area, where OpenAI and Anthropic will shortly open offices.
—Ian King, CNBC, 10 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for shabby
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Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 16 June 2026
Fresh walls and old trims can be a pointless exercise, as shabby trims will attract attention for all the wrong reasons.
—Sophie Flaxman, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 June 2026
Not too shabby for his first six months on the job.
—Grace Raynor, New York Times, 12 June 2026
In London itself, meanwhile, the hottest new tech cluster is the once-shabby King's Cross area, where OpenAI and Anthropic will shortly open offices.
—Ian King, CNBC, 10 June 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 21 Jun. 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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