ramshackle

UK: /ˈræmʃæk^əl/ US: /ˈræmˌʃækəl/ ,(ram′shak′əl)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

ram•shack•le /ˈræmˌʃækəl/   adj. [usually before a noun]

1. loosely made or held together;
   rickety;
   shaky:
   a ramshackle house.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

ram•shack•le  (ram′shak′əl), adj. 

1. loosely made or held together;
   rickety;
   shaky:
   a ramshackle house.

• compare earlier rans(h)ackled, obscurely akin to ransack 1815–25

ram′shack′le•ness, n. 
Synonyms

tumbledown, dilapidated, derelict, flimsy.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

ramshackle / ˈræmˌʃæk^əl/ adjective

1. (esp of buildings) badly constructed or maintained; rickety, shaky, or derelict

Etymology: 17th Century ramshackled, from obsolete ransackle to ransack