shack

¹ American  

[shak] / ʃæk /

noun

1. a rough cabin; shanty.

2. Informal. radio shack.

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verb phrase

1. shack up

   1. to live together as spouses without being legally married.

   2. to have illicit sexual relations.

   3. to live in a shack.

      He's shacked up in the mountains.

shack ² American  

[shak] / ʃæk /

verb (used with object)

Informal.

1. to chase and throw back; to retrieve.

   to shack a ground ball.

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shack ¹ British  

/ ʃæk /

noun

1. a roughly built hut

2. temporary accommodation put together by squatters

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verb

1. See shack up

shack ² British  

/ ʃæk /

verb

1. dialect to evade (work or responsibility)

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Etymology

Origin of shack¹

1875–80, compare earlier shackly rickety, probably akin to ramshackle ( Mexican Spanish jacal “hut” is a phonetically impossible source)

Origin of shack²

1825–35, apparently special use of dial. shack to shake

Example Sentences

He lives in a shack without running water and sees his family at best every six months.

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

The South Carolina crab shack fried green tomatoes with a ramekin of remoulade.

From Salon • Feb. 18, 2026

The FBI had tracked the Unabomber futilely for 18 years before his capture in a hermit’s shack in Montana in April 1996.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 17, 2026

From a wooden shack atop the stadium, John Mellencamp has overseen the team’s transformation from laughingstock to No. 1.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 17, 2026

I moved toward him, but he sprang into the air, hissed, and flew under the shack.

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson

Related Words

• cabin
• cottage
• hut
• lean-to
• shed
• shelter