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
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!
Outcasts United
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!
The View from Saturday
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.
However, it fell into disrepair when one of the founders died in 2010 and now the Friends of Newchapel Observatory are hoping to reopen it.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 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
What it does not reveal, however, is how many have been patched and then fallen into disrepair within months, needing more work.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
Meridian Hill Park notably has a monumental cascading fountain that has been in disrepair for years and only just reopened.
From Barron's ● May 19, 2026
Perhaps it was partly because of Frank that the new owners said there was a nasty feeling about the place, which, in the absence of inhabitants, started to fall into disrepair.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
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.
