This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
shamble
1[ sham-buhl ]
/ ˈʃæm bəl /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
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.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?
Origin of shamble
1before 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
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
21675–85; 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
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, nounWord 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