dilapidated
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- nondilapidated adjective
- undilapidated adjective
Etymology
Origin of dilapidated
First recorded in 1800–10; dilapidate + -ed 2
Explanation
Falling down and in total disrepair, something that's dilapidated is going to need a lot of fixing up. Sure, there might be crooked floorboards, mice scurrying underfoot, and pieces missing from the ceiling, but that dilapidated house does come with one perk: a cheaper price tag! Dilapidated is a word that implies deterioration, often because of neglect. So if you don’t take care of things, they can become dilapidated. That goes for houses, tree forts, relationships, health — you name it!
Vocabulary lists containing dilapidated
Grade 10, List 2
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Tangerine
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The Maze Runner
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But to many in the neighbourhood, one house always stood out: The dilapidated red-shuttered house with green-lined windows is just a block away from Joe, who moved into the neighbourhood with his then-wife in 1995.
From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026
Beneath moss-covered cinder blocks, dilapidated stone markers, and a handful of headstones, more than 200 children who died in state custody between the 1870s and 1930s are buried.
From Slate • Mar. 30, 2026
The government wants to "neutralise" the site and passed a law in 2016 to take control of the dilapidated building from its private owner.
From Barron's • Feb. 21, 2026
The licenses come a few weeks after Venezuela’s interim government made changes to its hydrocarbon law to ease state control of its dilapidated oil industry.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026
When the bond issue to renovate the dilapidated civic center failed not once but twice he could not help but wonder if there could ever be any real progress in a place like that.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
