How to Use shabby in a Sentence

shabby

adjective
  • Backing out of the deal was a shabby thing to do.
  • He wore a shabby coat.
  • The furniture was old and shabby.
  • They complained about the shabby treatment they received at the hotel.
  • Her first apartment was pretty shabby.
  • Not the shabby part of the last decade.
    — Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 26 Sep. 2025
  • Not too shabby for a fish camp cook.
    — Robert F. Moss, Southern Living, 9 Mar. 2026
  • Not too shabby for his first six months on the job.
    — Grace Raynor, New York Times, 12 June 2026
  • Not too shabby for a guy who is close to free in many drafts right now.
    — Jake Ciely, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2026
  • Not too shabby for a former three-star.
    — Grace Raynor, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2026
  • The place looked shabbier and shabbier as the years went by.
    — Francesco Pacifico, The Dial, 9 Dec. 2025
  • That's not too shabby for cheap hosting.
    — PC Magazine, 17 Nov. 2025
  • And the full-page beer list isn’t too shabby, either.
    — Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 22 Oct. 2025
  • Not too shabby for the sophomore.
    — Grace Raynor, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2025
  • His golf wasn’t too shabby, either.
    — Doug Ferguson, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026
  • Figs do look quite shabby at this time of the year as the leaves yellow and turn brown.
    — Tom MacCubbin, orlandosentinel.com, 10 Oct. 2020
  • Not that Cannes’ lineup was all that shabby.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 27 Aug. 2025
  • And while the names are fun, the numbers aren’t too shabby either.
    — Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
  • At school, he was hectored because of his shabby wardrobe.
    — Dan Pompei, New York Times, 23 June 2026
  • Those three guys coming off the bench aren’t too shabby, either.
    — Mark Heim | [email protected], al, 24 Apr. 2022
  • Your throw pillows may come out smelling clean and fresh, but looking a lot shabbier.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 18 Aug. 2025
  • Not too shabby for the world’s favorite couple!
    — Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 5 Dec. 2025
  • His client roster hasn’t been too shabby either.
    — Kimberly Wilson, Essence, 3 Dec. 2025
  • Not too shabby for a bunch of first-timers with no time trying to do something for the first time.
    — Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 15 Feb. 2025
  • That's not too shabby, but still down nearly 8% from the year before.
    — Matt Egan, CNN, 25 Feb. 2020
  • But winging it as the eagle for the morning wasn't too shabby.
    — Rob Manker, Naperville Sun, 23 May 2017
  • Not too shabby for a place that, at the time, rented out for $137 a night.
    — Colleen Oakley, Good Housekeeping, 6 Mar. 2023
  • Adding Parsons to that group at a spot in need of better doesn’t sound too shabby.
    — Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 29 Aug. 2025
  • Sunday was a chance, the one day in the week, to cast off the shabby work clothes or the uniforms and show off.
    — Toby Zinman, Philly.com, 19 Mar. 2018
  • Reliable and hot-mopped, and the view wasn't too shabby either — why look for more?
    — Alli Harvey, Anchorage Daily News, 25 Jan. 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shabby.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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