tumble-down

C2+ Topic:House & Home
US /ˈtʌmbəlˌdaʊn/ UK /ˈtʌmbəldaʊn/
adj Freq #299370

Meanings

  1. 1
    adj

    dilapidated, ramshackle, or in such poor condition that collapse seems likely

    Jim hid overnight in a tumble-down cooper's shop beside the river.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 adj · dilapidated, ramshackle, or... dilapidatedramshackledecrepit
More rickety
Opposites
sturdywell-maintained
Word family
Related forms tumbledowntumble

Etymology

From the verb phrase tumble down. The adjective imagines a neglected building as ready to fall or already partly collapsed; the closed spelling tumbledown is now also common.

Topics

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