crummy

¹

[ kruhm-ee ]

adjective

, crum·mi·er, crum·mi·est.

1. Also Slang.
   1. dirty and run-down; shabby; seedy:

      a crummy fleabag of a hotel.

   2. of little or no value; cheap; worthless:

      crummy furniture that falls apart after a month of use.

   3. wretchedly inadequate; miserable; lousy:

      They pay crummy salaries.

noun

, plural crum·mies.

1. Railroads Slang. a caboose.

crummy

²

[ kruhm-ee, kroom-ee ]

noun

, Chiefly Scot.

, plural crum·mies.

1. crummie.

crummy

¹

/ ˈkrʌmɪ /

noun

1. a lorry that carries loggers to work from their camp

crummy

²

/ ˈkrʌmɪ /

adjective

1. of little value; inferior; contemptible
2. unwell or depressed

   to feel crummy

Other Words From

• crummi·ly adverb
• crummi·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of crummy¹

1855–60; perhaps obsolete crum crooked ( crummie ) + -y ¹; sense “caboose” of unclear derivation and perhaps a distinct word

Word History and Origins

Origin of crummy¹

probably originally meaning: makeshift camp, from crummy ¹

Origin of crummy²

C19: variant spelling of crumby

Example Sentences

Part of the slippery scheme to sell crummy flood cars is dispersing the flood cars away from where they were damaged so the disaster is out of mind of the prospective buyer.

From Popular-Science

Kids, parents, educators, and doctors all agree that remote learning is a crummy substitute for in-person classrooms.

From Quartz

To see such talent applied as an insurance policy would have made for crummy consolation.

From FiveThirtyEight

In his crummy studio, his solitude is regularly disturbed by the sounds of strangers down the hall.

From MIT Technology Review

The $80 mouse is on sale now, but be aware that buying one will give you one less excuse when you miss a shot and want to blame it on your crummy old mouse instead of your lackluster skills.

From Popular-Science

And Steubenville was a prime example of our crummy attitude when it comes to bringing attackers to account.

From The Daily Beast

CAP gets its impressive number with a crummy trick: omitting the increased costs of legalization.

From The Daily Beast

This process is exhausting for the poor phones, and more so for those phones with crummy transistors.

From The Daily Beast

A few crummy places might be open if we were lucky, but we might not be.

From The Daily Beast

The translation might as well be: he was a crummy governor; why would he be a different president?

From The Daily Beast

You know you could do all right acting, but you don't dare giving up this crummy job.

From Project Gutenberg

"For their sake I hope they pick something better than this crummy planet," Larkwell grunted.

From Project Gutenberg

You mean sitting in the sun on a crummy lakeside, watching the birds and bees?

From Project Gutenberg

And Crummy—thats my outside man—kin handle the front and make the spiel, and take in what money comes in.

From Project Gutenberg

"I get it, all right, you crummy little chiseler," growled Astro.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• miserable
• rotten
• second-rate
• shabby