Definition of SHAMBLE

shamble

Plural: shambles

Noun

  • walking with a slow dragging motion without lifting your feet
  • One of a succession of niches or platforms, one above another, to hold ore which is thrown successively from platform to platform, and thus raised to a higher level.

Verb

Verb Forms: shambled, shambling, shambles

  • To walk or move with a slow, awkward, dragging gait.
  • walk by dragging one's feet
  • To walk while shuffling or dragging the feet.

Examples

  • His opponent would SHAMBLE over to the board, always taking ages to make a move.
  • I wasn't too impressed with the fellow, when he shambled in unenthusiastically and an hour late.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English schambyll, shamyll, schamel, from Old English sċeamol, scamol (“bench, stool”), from Proto-West Germanic *skamul, *skamil, from Proto-Germanic *skamulaz, *skamilaz, from Latin scamellum, a variant of scabellum (“footstool”). Cognate with Dutch schemel (“footstool, bench”), German Schemel (“stool”), Danish skammel (“stool”). Icelandic skemill (“footstool”).

Scrabble Score: 14

shamble: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
shamble: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
shamble: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 16

shamble: valid Words With Friends Word