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shamble
1[ sham-buhl ]
/ ˈʃæm bəl /
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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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CUDDLE UP! A COZY QUIZ ON FALL WORDS HAS ARRIVED
If autumn is your ideal season, spice up your repertoire of "fall" vocabulary with this quiz on some warm and vivid descriptive words for the season.
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Which of the following words means “to make a crackling sound; crackle”?
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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. 2021
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
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