English Explanatory Dictionary

shambles

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A scene of great disorder or ruin.
  2. A great mess or clutter.
  3. A scene of bloodshed, carnage or devastation.
  4. A slaughterhouse.
  5. A butcher's shop.
verb
  1. third-person singular simple present indicative of shamble

Pronunciation

/ˈʃæmbəlz/ en-us-shambles.ogg

Word forms

shambles

Etymology

From Middle English schamels, plural of schamel, from Old English sċeamol, sċamul (“bench, stool”), from Proto-West Germanic *skamul, *skamil (“stool, bench”), from Vulgar Latin scamellum, from Latin scamillum (“little bench, ridge”), from Latin scamnum (“bench, ridge, breadth of a field”).

Derived words

fish shambles omnishambles shambolic shambolism shambly
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