shambles

/ ˈʃæmbəlz /

noun

1. a place of great disorder

   the room was a shambles after the party

2. a place where animals are brought to be slaughtered

3. any place of slaughter or carnage

4. dialect,  a row of covered stalls or shops where goods, originally meat, are sold

Word History and Origins

Origin of shambles¹

C14 shamble table used by meat vendors, from Old English sceamel stool, from Late Latin scamellum a small bench, from Latin scamnum stool

Example Sentences

The Office for Budget Responsibility prematurely published key budget details, causing a “serious error” and “complete shambles” in Parliament.

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Firefighters arrived to find a home in shambles, with walls collapsed, windows blown out and parts still aflame.

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Describing the situation as a "shambles", Badenoch accused the government of floating the idea of increasing income tax rates only to "U-turn".

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Alas, once the room was a shambles, the curtains ripped, and the pillows emptied of feathers, their meaning became all too clear.

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One became two and two became three - and it was a shambles.

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Related Words

• disarray