shamble

[ sham-buhl ]

/ ˈʃæm bəl /

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See synonyms for: shamble / shambles / shambling on Thesaurus.com

noun

shambles, (used with a singular or plural verb)

a slaughterhouse.
any place of carnage.
any scene of destruction: to turn cities into shambles.
any scene, place, or thing in disorder: Her desk is a shambles.

British Dialect. a butcher's shop or stall.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of shamble

before 900; Middle English shamel,Old English sc(e)amel stool, table <Late Latin scamellum,Latin scamillum, diminutive of Latin scamnum bench; compare German Schemel

Words nearby shamble

shaman, shamanism, Shamash, shamateur, shamba, shamble, shambles, shambolic, shame, shamefaced, shamefast

Other definitions for shamble (2 of 2)

shamble²

[ sham-buhl ]

/ ˈʃæm bəl /

verb (used without object), sham·bled, sham·bling.

to walk or go awkwardly; shuffle.

noun

a shambling gait.

Origin of shamble

1675–85; perhaps short for shamble-legs one that walks wide (i.e., as if straddling), reminiscent of the legs of a shamble¹ (in earlier sense “butcher's table”)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use shamble in a sentence

When Hurricane Gustav struck the Gulf Coast in 2008, leaving more than 100,000 Louisiana customers without power for over a week, Entergy’s grid was in shambles.
Entergy Resisted Upgrading New Orleans’ Power Grid. When Ida Hit, Residents Paid the Price.|by Max Blau and Annie Waldman, ProPublica, and Tegan Wendland, WWNO/NPR; Photography by Kathleen Flynn, special to ProPublica|September 22, 2021|ProPublica
At least 21 people are dead, hundreds of homes are in shambles and the wreckage of people’s lives is strewn across the landscape.
Tennessee floods show a pressing climate danger across America: ‘Walls of water’|Sarah Kaplan|August 24, 2021|Washington Post
My supposition is that North Korea does not want to be 90% dependent upon China for its economy, which is currently in a shambles under those circumstances, and is seeking a different kind of independence.
'This Is a Window of Opportunity.' Ret. General Vincent K. Brooks on Why Things Might Be Moving Again With North Korea|Charlie Campbell / Shanghai|June 24, 2021|Time
With his emotional life in shambles, Pauli took up drinking and smoking heavily.
The Synchronicity of Wolfgang Pauli and Carl Jung - Issue 93: Forerunners|Paul Halpern|November 18, 2020|Nautilus

The resulting chaos has left nearly 200,000 Americans dead and the economy in shambles.
Vote for Biden (duh)|Kevin Naff|September 10, 2020|Washington Blade
The deck of the Frenchman was truly a shamble; not a spot appeared free from some dead or wounded occupant.
Hurricane Hurry|W.H.G. Kingston
The men were past revolt now, they could only shamble dizzily about.
Beggars on Horseback|F. Tennyson Jesse
They could not walk, they could only shamble; they could not laugh, they could only leer.
The Profits of Religion, Fifth Edition|Upton Sinclair
His knees still knocked together in a loathsome paralysis, but he made effort to shamble forward.
The Air Pirate|Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull
It is called Shamble Oak because a butcher once used its hollow trunk to conceal stolen sheep.
Zigzag Journeys in Europe|Hezekiah Butterworth

British Dictionary definitions for shamble

shamble

/ (ˈʃæmbəl) /

verb

(intr) to walk or move along in an awkward or unsteady way

noun

an awkward or unsteady walk

Derived forms of shamble

shambling, adjective, noun

Word Origin for shamble

C17: from shamble (adj) ungainly, perhaps from the phrase shamble legs legs resembling those of a meat vendor's table; see shambles

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

shamble

Origin of shamble

Words nearby shamble

Other definitions for shamble (2 of 2)

Origin of shamble

Words related to shamble

How to use shamble in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for shamble

Derived forms of shamble

Word Origin for shamble