shambles


Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

sham·bles

 (shăm′bəlz)
pl.n. (used with a sing. verb)
1.
a. A scene or condition of complete disorder or ruin: "The economy was in a shambles" (W. Bruce Lincoln).
b. Great clutter or jumble; a total mess: made dinner and left the kitchen a shambles.
2.
a. A place or scene of bloodshed or carnage.
b. A scene or condition of great devastation.
3. A slaughterhouse.
4. Archaic A meat market or butcher shop.
[From Middle English shamel, shambil, place where meat is butchered and sold, from Old English sceamol, table, counter (as one on which items for sale are placed), from Latin scabillum, scamillum, diminutive of scamnum, bench, stool.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

shambles

(ˈʃæmbəlz)
n (functioning as singular or plural)
1. a place of great disorder: the room was a shambles after the party.
2. (Agriculture) a place where animals are brought to be slaughtered
3. any place of slaughter or carnage
4. (Commerce) dialect Brit a row of covered stalls or shops where goods, originally meat, are sold
[C14 shamble table used by meat vendors, from Old English sceamel stool, from Late Latin scamellum a small bench, from Latin scamnum stool]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

sham•bles

(ˈʃæm bəlz)
n. (used with a sing. or pl. v.)
1. a slaughterhouse.
2. any place of carnage.
3. any scene of destruction.
4. a place or condition of great disorder.
[before 900; Old English sc(e)amel stool, table < Late Latin scamellum, Latin scamillum, diminutive of Latin scamnum bench]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.shambles - a condition of great disorder
disorderliness, disorder - a condition in which things are not in their expected places; "the files are in complete disorder"
2.shambles - a building where animals are butcheredshambles - a building where animals are butchered
abattoir, butchery, slaughterhouse
building, edifice - a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place; "there was a three-story building on the corner"; "it was an imposing edifice"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

shambles

noun
1. chaos, mess, disorder, confusion, muddle, havoc, anarchy, disarray, madhouse, disorganization The economy is a shambles.
2. mess, state, jumble, tip, disaster area, untidiness The boat's interior was an utter shambles.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

shambles

noun
A ruinous state of disorder:
botch, foul-up, mess, muddle.
Informal: hash.
Slang: screwup, snafu.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
مَجْزَرمكان كلُّه فَوْضى
bordelnepořádekzmatek
virvar
kaaos
zbrka
mészárszékösszevisszaságpusztulásrendetlenségromhalmaz
óreiîa
乱雑な状態
난장판
jovalas
haossjuceklis
soppa
cảnh hỗn độn

shambles

[ˈʃæmblz] NSING (= scene of confusion) → desorden m, confusión f
this room is a shambles! → ¡esta habitación está hecha un desastre!
the place was a shambles → el lugar quedó hecho pedazos
the game was a shambles → el partido fue desastroso
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

shambles

[ˈʃæmbəlz] n
(= messy place) → fouillis m
It's a complete shambles
BUT C'est la pagaille complète.
(= fiasco)
The rehearsal was a shambles → La répétition a été un vrai désastre.
in a shambles
The economy is in a complete shambles → L'économie part dans tous les sens.
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

shambles

n sing → heilloses Durcheinander; (esp of room etc) → Tohuwabohu nt; the room was a shambles → im Zimmer herrschte das reinste Tohuwabohu or ein heilloses Durcheinander; the economy/country is in a shambles → die Wirtschaft/das Land befindet sich in einem Chaos; they left the house in a shambles → sie hinterließen das Haus wie ein Schlachtfeld; the game was a shambles → das Spiel war das reinste Kuddelmuddel (inf); he made a shambles of that job → da hat er vielleicht einen Mist gebaut! (inf)
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

shambles

[ˈʃæmblz] nsg (scene of confusion) → macello, baraonda
the area was (in) a shambles after the earthquake → dopo il terremoto la zona era nella distruzione più totale
the economy is (in) a complete shambles → l'economia è nel caos più totale
the place was (in) a shambles → c'era un macello
the game was a shambles → la partita è stata un disastro
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

shambles

(ˈʃӕmblz) noun singular
a confused mess; (something in) a state of disorder. His room was a shambles; We're in a bit of a shambles at the moment.desorden, confusión
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

shambles

→ desquicio
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
Mentioned in ?
References in classic literature ?
Smellest thou not already the shambles and cookshops of the spirit?
View in context
Sab Than lay dead beside his father, and the corpses of the flower of Zodangan nobility and chivalry covered the floor of the bloody shambles.
View in context
Kobe was a shambles; the slaughter of the cotton operatives by machine-guns became classic as the most terrific execution ever achieved by modern war machines.
View in context
He never knew, each time he entered the festering shambles, whether or not he would be able to complete the round.
View in context
The round-house was like a shambles; three were dead inside, another lay in his death agony across the threshold; and there were Alan and I victorious and unhurt.
View in context
When about to be sent to the same market, an older sister went to the shambles, to plead with the wretch who owned them, for the love of God, to spare his victims.
View in context
When it cleared again the place was a shambles. Wilson and eight others were wriggling on the top of each other on the floor, and the blood and the brown sherry on that table turn me sick now when I think of it.
View in context
Wait, please; you betray too much vigor, too much decision; you want more of a shamble. Look at me, please -- this is what I mean......Now you are get- ting it; that is the idea -- at least, it sort of approaches it......Yes, that is pretty fair.
View in context
JOSH TAYLOR insists it would be a "shambles" if he does not fulfil his dream of an Edinburgh Castle scrap.
Taylor: Let me be king of the Castle; BOXING
Green MSP Ross Greer condemned the Brexit "shambles" after the New Zealand Herald reported that EU withdrawal had not helped Scotland's pitch for the series.
Scotland misses out on Lord of the Rings shoot 'over Brexit' TELEVISION
The DC visited the offices of the Sialkot Municipal Corporation and Sialkot District Council situated in the crumbling and cracked rooms in their ancient buildings, which were in the shambles with high fears of their sudden collapse as well.
Admin orders relocation of MC, DC offices
But becoming a complete shambles is another matter.
There is a reason to support Brexit

Dictionary browser ?
Full browser ?