shambles

noun

sham·​bles ˈsham-bəlz 

plural in form but singular or plural in construction

1

archaic : a meat market

2

: slaughterhouse

3

a

: a place of mass slaughter or bloodshed

the battlefield became a shambles

b

: a scene or a state of great destruction : wreckage

the city was a shambles after the bombing

c(1)

: a scene or a state of great disorder or confusion

an economy in shambles

(2)

: great confusion : mess

Did you know?

The story of shambles appears to be a bit of a shambles: somehow, a word meaning "footstool" gave us a word meaning "mess." It all starts with the Latin word scamillum, the diminutive of scamnum, meaning "stool, bench." Modify the spelling and you get the Old English word sceamol, meaning "stool." Alter again to the Middle English word shameles (the plural of schamel), and give it a more specific meaning: "a vendor’s table." Tweak that a little and you arrive at the 15th-century term shambles, meaning "meat market." A century or so takes shambles from "meat market" to "slaughterhouse," then to figurative application as a term referring to a place of terrible slaughter or bloodshed (say, a battlefield). The grim connotations fade over time, but the messiness remains, and voilà: the modern sense of shambles meaning "mess" or "state of great confusion." Transition accomplished!

Synonyms

• dump
• hellhole
• hole
• pigpen
• pigsty
• sty

Examples of shambles in a Sentence

this room is a shambles—clean it up right now!

the earthquake left the whole town in a shambles

Recent Examples on the Web

Faced with sanctions, no reconstruction aid from international donors and its own economy in shambles, rebuilding has been piecemeal and limited. —Hwaida Saad, New York Times, 6 Feb. 2023

Now Italian soccer is in shambles while La Liga remains profoundly top-heavy, thanks in part to the imbalanced international broadcasting deals that had dominated it until recently. —Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 4 Feb. 2023

The rioters made quick work of devastating much of the Supreme Court, leaving the courtroom where justices decide cases in shambles. —Simon Romero, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2023

In one clip, pulled from a video timestamped after her altercation with police, a woman who appears to be Starer descends the Capitol steps in shambles, no pom-pom beanie in sight. —Hanna Krueger, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Jan. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Middle English shameles, plural of schamel vendor's table, footstool, from Old English sceamol stool, from Latin scamillum, diminutive of scamnum stool, bench; perhaps akin to Sanskrit skambha pillar

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

shambles

singular or plural noun

sham·​bles ˈsham-bəlz 

1

: a place or state of destruction

the hurricane left the city in a shambles

2

: a scene or state of disorder or confusion : mess

this room is a shambles

an economy in shambles