ramshackle

Definition

In disrepair or disorder; poorly maintained; lacking upkeep, usually of buildings or vehicles.

Etymology

First attested in 1830, a back-formation from ramshackled, from ransackled, past participle of ransackle (“to ransack”), frequentative of Middle English ransaken (“to pillage”).

Example Sentences

• "They stayed in a ramshackle cabin on the beach."
• "Steady old Curés come jolting past, now and then, in such ramshackle, rusty, musty, clattering coaches as no Englishman would believe in;[…]"
• "There came […] my lord the cardinal, in his ramshackle coach."