shack

1
[ shak ]
/ ʃæk /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR shack ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a rough cabin; shanty.
Informal. radio shack.

Verb Phrases

shack up, Slang.
  1. to live together as spouses without being legally married.
  2. to have illicit sexual relations.
  3. to live in a shack: He's shacked up in the mountains.

QUIZZES

DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

"The Handmaid's Tale" was required reading for many of us in school. Everyone else has probably watched the very popular and addictive TV show. Do you remember this vocabulary from the book, and do you know what these terms mean?
Question 1 of 10
decorum
the act of or need for making up one's mind.
dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.
a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of shack

1
1875–80, Americanism; compare earlier shackly rickety, probably akin to ramshackle (Mexican Spanish jacal “hut” is a phonetically impossible source)

Words nearby shack

shabu-shabu, shabuoth, shacharis, shacharith, shache, shack, shack up, shack-tapping, shacket, shackle, shackleton

Definition for shack (2 of 2)

shack2
[ shak ]
/ ʃæk /

verb (used with object) Informal.

to chase and throw back; to retrieve: to shack a ground ball.

Origin of shack

2
1825–35, Americanism; apparently special use of dial. shack to shake
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to shack

shed, shelter, lean-to, hut, cottage, cabin, camp

Example sentences from the Web for shack

British Dictionary definitions for shack (1 of 2)

shack1
/ (ʃæk) /

noun

a roughly built hut
Southern African temporary accommodation put together by squatters

verb

See shack up

Word Origin for shack

C19: perhaps from dialect shackly ramshackle, from dialect shack to shake

British Dictionary definitions for shack (2 of 2)

shack2
/ (ʃæk) /

verb

Midland English dialect to evade (work or responsibility)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012