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Added 9 October 2026

shack

/ʃæk/ noun

In Latin: tugurium Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about shack at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A crude, roughly built hut or cabin.
Any poorly constructed or poorly furnished building.
The room from which a ham radio operator transmits.

verb

To live (in or with); to shack up.

noun

Grain fallen to the ground and left after harvest.
Nuts which have fallen to the ground.
Freedom to pasturage in order to feed upon shack.

verb

To shed or fall, as corn or grain at harvest.
To feed in stubble, or upon waste.
To wander as a vagabond or tramp.

Origin

Unknown. Some scholars derive this word from Mexican Spanish jacal, from Nahuatl xacalli (“adobe hut”). Alternatively, the word may instead come from ramshackle/ramshackly (e.g., old ramshackly house) or perhaps it may be a back-formation from shackly. Compare Tavringer Romani hak (“place, house”), Traveller Norwegian hak (“place”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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