disrepair

noun

dis·​re·​pair ˌdis-ri-ˈper How to pronounce disrepair (audio)
: the state of being in need of repair
a building fallen into disrepair

Examples of disrepair in a Sentence

The lighthouse was in disrepair until the volunteers cleaned it up. After years of neglect, the house fell into disrepair.
Recent Examples on the Web As parts of the city fell into disrepair, Pusey found ways to suggest the tension between demolition and renewal. Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2024 The church has fallen into disrepair since closing, beginning with a stonework collapse in 2015. Rory Appleton, The Indianapolis Star, 14 Mar. 2024 Eisner’s hotel was on George Street, a busy thoroughfare of tour buses, restaurant chains, and students, just outside the line of the old city walls, which had fallen into disrepair by the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2024 As the booms fade and production falls, wells are sold to a string of ever-smaller companies, many of which let the infrastructure fall into disrepair while violations and leaks skyrocket. Mark Olalde, ProPublica, 22 Feb. 2024 In the 1950s and 1960s, the agency moved to new campuses in Boulder and Gaithersburg after its early headquarters in Washington fell into disrepair. Cat Zakrzewski, Washington Post, 6 Mar. 2024 But why have so many historic Black churches been abandoned or fallen into disrepair, and who is working to save them? Dana Taylor, USA TODAY, 25 Feb. 2024 The theater fell into disrepair and closed in 1987, Nyquist says. Gary Stoller, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024 By the 1990s, however, Lincoln Memorial had fallen into disrepair. C. Isaiah Smalls Ii, Miami Herald, 18 Feb. 2024

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

Word History

First Known Use

1798, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of disrepair was in 1798

Dictionary Entries Near disrepair

Cite this Entry

“Disrepair.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disrepair. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

disrepair

noun
dis·​re·​pair ˌdis-ri-ˈpa(ə)r How to pronounce disrepair (audio)
-ˈpe(ə)r
: the condition of needing repair

More from Merriam-Webster on disrepair

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