dilapidated
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dilapidated
First recorded in 1800–10; dilapidate + -ed 2
Explanation
Falling down and in total disrepair, something that's dilapidated is going to need a lot of fixing up. Sure, there might be crooked floorboards, mice scurrying underfoot, and pieces missing from the ceiling, but that dilapidated house does come with one perk: a cheaper price tag! Dilapidated is a word that implies deterioration, often because of neglect. So if you don’t take care of things, they can become dilapidated. That goes for houses, tree forts, relationships, health — you name it!
Vocabulary lists containing dilapidated
Grade 10, List 2
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Tangerine
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1984
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
France, where the current wave of student protests kicked off in late September, fuelled by student complaints over staff shortages and dilapidated buildings, is a stand-out catalyst in Europe.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
To see that structure “so dilapidated and dirty and covered in bird droppings and decades of grime, it broke my heart,” Marsak said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
Dozens of people gathered on Friday outside the school to mourn the children who were killed in the collapse, which officials blamed on dilapidated infrastructure.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
A keen golfer, Trump wants to renovate the municipal course, which he has described as dilapidated, saying it could eventually host major tournaments.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
Arthur had bolted it to the floor of a boat-building warehouse on Andreason Street, a dilapidated barn that smelled'permanently of lithographic ink and of the ammonia in the typesetting machine.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
