shanty /ˈʃænti/noun 4adjective 2verb 1forms 5 noun4 •A roughly-built hut or cabin.A chap named Eleazir Kendrick and I had chummed in together the summer afore and built a fish-weir and shanty at Setuckit Point, down Orham way. For a spell we done pretty well. — 1913 •A rudimentary or improvised dwelling, especially one not legally owned.In the hard times of the 1930s, shanty boats along the Ohio River′s banks were home to many families, who felt fortunate to have a roof over their heads even if it was not on dry land. — 2009 •A rhythmic work song, traditionally sung by sailors or stevedores, functioning to set the pace for hauling, turning a capstan, loading, or other such activities.A Scot called Macmillan, a man holding a master's square-rig ticket, gave me a portion of a shanty related in tune to the foregoing, and also to the British Rolling Home. — 1979 •(Australia, New-Zealand) An unlicensed pub.The shanty-keeper is not, as a rule, a bachelor. — 1881 adjective2 •(US, offensive) Living in shanties; poor, ill-mannered and violent.That neighborhood is full of shanty Irishmen. •Jaunty; showy. verb1 •To inhabit a shanty.we came down the Alleghany in two canoes , and shantied on the Ohio — 1857 formsshantied · shantying · shanties · more shanty · most shanty
