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 result is a compassionate, elegant, unsettling book about some extremely shabby people.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 26 May 2026
Homeowners may wonder why another large group — the many city and county residents who love Balboa Park — arguably benefited the most from the leverage Aguirre and Severson had on the city in their lawsuit exposing its shabby and legally dubious trash practices.
—U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 May 2026
The Moroccan immigrants who staff this berry farm appear to live simple lives, spending their days on repetitive manual labor and their evenings in shabby housing with minimal material possessions.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 18 May 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for shabby
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Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 26 May 2026
Homeowners may wonder why another large group — the many city and county residents who love Balboa Park — arguably benefited the most from the leverage Aguirre and Severson had on the city in their lawsuit exposing its shabby and legally dubious trash practices.
—U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 May 2026
The Moroccan immigrants who staff this berry farm appear to live simple lives, spending their days on repetitive manual labor and their evenings in shabby housing with minimal material possessions.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 18 May 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for shabby
Cite this Entry
“Shabby.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shabby. Accessed 29 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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