jalopy
Americannoun
-
jalopies
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of jalopy
An Americanism dating back to 1925–30; origin uncertain
Explanation
A jalopy is an old car that isn't working very well. You'd never call a new, smooth-running car a jalopy. There are a lot of insulting words in English, mostly for people. This insult is for a car: a jalopy is a rundown, beat-up, falling apart car that needs to be replaced. You'll never see a car salesman say "Check out our selection of jalopies!" A jalopy might have been a great car at one point, but it has seen better days.
Vocabulary lists containing jalopy
Automobiles
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Circuit
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Swing
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
You could patch up the car, which could make it an unreliable jalopy that breaks down — leading to you having to pour more money into fixing it.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
Many of us have experienced the insurance-rate sticker shock of upgrading from a beloved old jalopy to something newer and nicer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
But they’ll get there—in the same way a young car-shopper starts with a beat-up old jalopy, he argued, eventually they’ll walk onto the lot in middle age looking for a pricey new Cadillac.
From Slate ● May 25, 2025
After all, the whole reason I drive a jalopy manufactured during George W. Bush’s presidency is to have an easier time paying for food.
From Salon ● Nov. 4, 2023
The Joad family was poor and traveled from place to place in an old jalopy, looking for work.
From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez
If there are racecars, sports cars, and beat-up jalopies alike, are the cars born into their occupation?
From Salon ● Jun. 6, 2026
No one today any longer wishes to hear jokes about nagging mothers-in-law, spendthrift wives or old jalopies, and the men and women who once told them to hardy plaudits are now forgotten.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025
It was a replica of the jalopies that passed through Kern County during the Dust Bowl.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 2, 2024
Over there was the junkyard where their father fixed up jalopies, and the sheds where the family raised pigs and cows and chickens.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 3, 2023
"It costs at least two hundred credits in fuel alone to get one of these chemical jalopies off the ground!"
From On the Trail of the Space Pirates by Louis Glanzman
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
