shack

noun

1
: hut, shanty
2
: a room or similar enclosed structure for a particular person or use
a guard shack

Examples of shack in a Sentence

an old shack in the woods a farmer's shack out in the fields that's used for lambing and as a shelter from storms
Recent Examples on the Web At the Flora-Bama, everyone’s welcome, and for many folks, their first pilgrimage to this sprawling shack on the beach begets a second one—and maybe a hundred more after that. Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 6 Mar. 2024 The museum, a 200-year-old shack with a tin roof, was once Hurt’s home. Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Feb. 2024 Israel has publicly revealed the existence of only one tunnel entrance on the grounds of the hospital, at the shack outside its main buildings. Matthew Rosenberg, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2024 Others are little more than a collection of wooden shacks. Terrence McCoy, Washington Post, 10 Feb. 2024 Erskine, who has lived in South Portland all her life, said her son had his senior photos taken at the shacks and wedding parties often visited them. CBS News, 15 Jan. 2024 The list includes a seafood shack, a Laotian restaurant, and a farm-to-table spot in an old Kentucky barn. Amanda Hancock, The Courier-Journal, 23 Feb. 2024 Away from its luxury hotels and affluent suburbs, residents in mushrooming shack settlements without basic services often share a water pump and portable chemical toilets. Lynsey Chutel, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2024 In a scene forecasting what would follow up and down the East Coast, Quint, the movie’s shark hunter, has dozens of shark jaws hanging from the wall of his shack. Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shack.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

probably back-formation from English dialect shackly rickety

First Known Use

1878, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of shack was in 1878

Dictionary Entries Near shack

Cite this Entry

“Shack.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shack. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

shack

noun
1
: hut, shanty
2
: a room or similar enclosed structure for a particular person or use
a radio shack

More from Merriam-Webster on shack

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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