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tumbledown
adjective
tum·ble·down
ˈtəm-bəl-ˈdau̇n
: dilapidated, ramshackle
a tumbledown house at the edge of town—Sherwood Anderson
Synonyms
Examples of tumbledown in a Sentence
lived alone on a tumbledown farm that had seen better days
Recent Examples on the Web
All except a few dozen hardy souls who formed the historical society and began patching the scars of this tumbledown town.
—Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 22 Mar. 2024
The project is in a tumbledown section of Oildale, situated between an optical lens store and aquatic pet shop.
—Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2024
The pictures within chronicle a turbulent half decade in the lives of Billingham’s family members, who reside in a tumbledown tower-block apartment in the town of Cradley Heath.
—Chris Wiley, The New Yorker, 29 Feb. 2024
For much of recent history, intimate private colleges and universities have thrived here, as much a part of the region’s identity as tumbledown stone walls and scenic coastlines, the local highways bristling with signs signaling that another quintessential New England campus is just an exit away.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Apr. 2023
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Word History
First Known Use
1818, in the meaning defined above
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Cite this Entry
“Tumbledown.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tumbledown. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
Kids Definition
tumbledown
adjective
tum·ble·down
ˌtəm-bəl-ˌdau̇n
: dilapidated
a tumbledown shack
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