jalopy

[juh-lop-ee]

noun

Informal.

plural

jalopies 

1. an old, decrepit, or unpretentious automobile.

jalopy

/ dʒəˈlɒpɪ /

noun

1. informal,  a dilapidated old car

Word History and Origins

Origin of jalopy¹

An Americanism dating back to 1925–30; origin uncertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of jalopy¹

C20: of unknown origin

Example Sentences

But just because this old jalopy still runs doesn’t mean it’s worth taking for a spin.

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Kelce has gone the extra mile, buying a onetime muffler shop to expand Operation Breakthrough’s campus and create the Ignition Lab, in which students convert dilapidated jalopies into lacquered, showroom-ready electric vehicles.

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If this were a 1940s noir, Lou would be fixing jalopies in a dingy garage while waiting for a dame to stroll in to change his fate.

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Part of the carnival circuit, the family travels a snowy landscape in their jalopy, killing people along the way seemingly for sport, but also, perhaps, as part of a morbid quest for immortality.

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It was a replica of the jalopies that passed through Kern County during the Dust Bowl.

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