Standard Lemma guide

shamble

adj · noun · verb · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈʃæmbəl/ without æ-raising
  • [ˈʃhæmbəl] ~ [ˈʃhæmbl̩] without æ-raising
  • Canada, US: /ˈʃeə̯mbəl/
  • Canada, US: [ˈʃeə̯mbəl] ~ [ˈʃeə̯mbl̩]
  • Canada, US: /ˈʃɛə̯mbəl/
  • Canada, US: [ˈʃɛə̯mbəl] ~ [ˈʃɛə̯mbl̩]
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -æmbəl
  • CMU ARPABET: SH AE1 M B AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Shambling, awkward, ungainly; distorted, ill-shapen, wry.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, rare

Examples

  • His awkward stagger is due to his shamble legs.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

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.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: business, mining

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To walk while shuffling or dragging the feet.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • I wasn't too impressed with the fellow, when he shambled in unenthusiastically and an hour late.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

walking with a slow dragging motion without lifting your feet

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • from his shambling I assumed he was very old

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: shambling, shuffle, shuffling

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: walk, walking

5

verb

Meaning 5

walk by dragging one's feet

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he shuffled out of the room
  • We heard his feet shuffling down the hall

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: shuffle, scuffle

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: walk

Narrower terms: scuff, drag

History

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 West Frisian skammel (“shamble, trestle, stool", also (in the plural) "legs, especially when showing defects or deformities”), Dutch schemel (“footstool, bench”), German Schemel (“stool”), Danish skammel (“stool”). Icelandic skemill (“footstool”). The verb is probably derived from the adjective, itself from attributive use of the noun. Compare West Frisian skammelje (“to walk with a swaying gait, especially on deformed legs”).

Across languages

Translations

20 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: مَشَى يَجُرُّ قَدَمَيْهِ (mašā yajurru qadamayhi) — to walk while shuffling or dragging the feet
  • Bulgarian: влача се (vlača se) — to walk while shuffling or dragging the feet
  • Bulgarian: тътря си краката (tǎtrja si krakata) — to walk while shuffling or dragging the feet
  • Czech: courat se — to walk while shuffling or dragging the feet
  • Czech: šourat se — to walk while shuffling or dragging the feet
  • Dutch: sloffen — to walk while shuffling or dragging the feet
  • Finnish: laahustaa — to walk while shuffling or dragging the feet
  • Finnish: raahustaa — to walk while shuffling or dragging the feet
  • German: schlurfen — to walk while shuffling or dragging the feet
  • German: schleichen — to walk while shuffling or dragging the feet
  • German: watscheln — to walk while shuffling or dragging the feet
  • Māori: hōnekeneke — to walk while shuffling or dragging the feet
  • Māori: pīkari — to walk while shuffling or dragging the feet
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: subba — to walk while shuffling or dragging the feet
  • Russian: ша́ркать (šárkatʹ) — to walk while shuffling or dragging the feet
  • Spanish: arrastrar los pies — to walk while shuffling or dragging the feet
  • Ukrainian: волочитися (voločytysja) — to walk while shuffling or dragging the feet
  • Ukrainian: тягтися (tjahtysja) — to walk while shuffling or dragging the feet
  • Ukrainian: незграбно йти (nezhrabno jty) — to walk while shuffling or dragging the feet
  • ǃXóõ: ʘxúũ — to walk while shuffling or dragging the feet