derelict
Americanadjective
noun
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a person abandoned by society, especially a person without a permanent home and means of support; vagrant; bum.
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Nautical. a vessel abandoned in open water by its crew without any hope or intention of returning.
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personal property abandoned or thrown away by the owner.
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one guilty of neglect of duty.
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Law. land left dry by a change of the water line.
adjective
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deserted or abandoned, as by an owner, occupant, etc
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falling into ruins; neglected; dilapidated
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neglectful of duty or obligation; remiss
noun
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a person abandoned or neglected by society; a social outcast or vagrant
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property deserted or abandoned by an owner, occupant, etc
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a vessel abandoned at sea
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a person who is neglectful of duty or obligation
Other Word Forms
- derelictly adverb
- derelictness noun
- nonderelict adjective
Etymology
Origin of derelict
First recorded in 1640–50; from Latin dērelictus “forsaken” (past participle of dērelinquere ), equivalent to dē- “from, away from” + relictus, past participle of relinquere “to leave, abandon”; de-, relinquish
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.
These derelict streets, wind-swept by the bracing North Sea air, were once the envy of the community, teeming with life.
From BBC
He wrote a 12-book series around the character, a British soldier who returns to Cornwall from the American War of Independence and rebuilds his tattered estate, reopens his father's derelict mine and finds love.
From BBC
Lebanon is dotted with derelict buildings, and many inhabited structures are in an advanced state of disrepair.
From Barron's
Brigade volunteers continue to remove the derelict traps, known to be hazardous to beachgoers and wildlife.
From Los Angeles Times
At the moment it's derelict, but Goldsworthy explained his plans to create a rammed earth wall with a deep cavity in the middle, the size of a grave.
From BBC
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.
