disrepair
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of disrepair
Explanation
Disrepair is a state of being damaged or broken, especially because of neglect. Leaving your car in your parents' driveway all winter might result in disrepair. A house in disrepair needs help — it might look shabby, with flaking paint and a crumbling brick porch. This mostly happens when houses aren't being lived in, or when their owners don't have the money for upkeep. An entire city or neighborhood in disrepair feels neglected and even dangerous. The noun disrepair combines the prefix dis-, "do the opposite with repair, "mend or fix," from its Latin root reparare, "restore" or "put back in order."
Vocabulary lists containing disrepair
Donald Trump Inauguration Address- January 20, 2017
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Outcasts United
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The View from Saturday
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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.
Right now, the former Trump Taj Mahal, which fell into bankruptcy and disrepair under its namesake, is now thriving in Atlantic City as the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2026
The Justice Department says the venue is in disrepair and may need to be demolished if the improvements can’t go forward.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
As cost of living pressures persist, a growing number of people are applying to become so-called property guardians - living in vacant residential or commercial buildings to protect them from squatters, vandalism and disrepair.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
About 1 in 10 streetlights are out of service because of disrepair or copper wire theft, according to the city.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Buildings neglected during the war had fallen into disrepair.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
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.
