Added 9 October 2026
shabby
/ˈʃæbi/ adjective
adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about shabby at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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Of clothing, a place, etc.: unkempt and worn or otherwise in poor condition due to age or neglect; scruffy.
They lived in a tiny apartment, with some old, shabby furniture.
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Of a person: wearing ragged or very worn, and often dirty, clothing.
The fellow arrived looking rather shabby after journeying so far.
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Of a person, their behaviour, etc.: despicable, mean; also, not generous; stingy, tight-fisted.
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verb
Origin
The adjective is derived from shab (“(obsolete except UK, dialectal) scaly skin disease; skin disease of sheep; crust forming over wound, scab”) + -y (suffix meaning ‘having the quality of’ forming adjectives). The verb is derived from the adjective. Cognates * Dutch schabbig (“poor, needy, shabby”) * Middle High German schebic (modern German schäbig (“shabby”)) * Middle Low German schabbich (“miserable”) (modern Low German schabbig, schäbbig) * Scots shabby (“in poor health, ill”) * Swedish sjabbig (“shabby, mangy, scruffy”), skabbig (“scabby”)
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)