shack

C2+ Topic:Tools, Machines & Construction

US /ʃæk/ UK /ʃæk/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like sack /s/ vs /ʃ/ Sounds like sacque /s/ vs /ʃ/

noun verb

Meanings

1

noun
a roughly built hut or cabin

They sheltered in a tin-roofed shack by the river.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a roughly built hut or cabin hut cabin shanty hovel shed lean-to

Opposites

mansion palace

Word family

Derived forms shackful

Related forms ramshackle

Etymology

Of uncertain origin, first attested in 19th-century American English; possibly a back-formation from ramshackle, or from Mexican Spanish jacal ('hut'), from Nahuatl xacalli ('adobe hut').

Topics

Tools, Machines & Construction

# shack

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** ʃæk
**IPA (UK):** ʃæk

## Meanings
1. a roughly built hut or cabin

## Examples
- They sheltered in a tin-roofed shack by the river.

## Synonyms
- hut
- cabin
- shanty
- hovel
- shed
- lean-to

## Antonyms
- mansion
- palace

## Derived Forms
- shackful

## Related Forms
- ramshackle

## Etymology
Of uncertain origin, first attested in 19th-century American English; possibly a back-formation from ramshackle, or from Mexican Spanish jacal ('hut'), from Nahuatl xacalli ('adobe hut').

## AI Etymology
Shack is of uncertain origin, first attested in 19th-century American English; possibly a back-formation from ramshackle, or from Mexican Spanish jacal ('hut'), from Nahuatl xacalli ('adobe hut'). Its formation runs backward from an existing longer form, producing a shorter base that then carries the same family of senses. As a noun and verb, it denotes "a roughly built hut or cabin", keeping the historical idea close to its dictionary sense. Derivative forms include shackful; related words include ramshackle.

## Topics
- Tools, Machines & Construction

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shack

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