Definition of "shambles" [shambles]

• A scene or condition of complete disorder or ruin: "The economy was in a shambles” ( W. Bruce Lincoln). (noun-plural)
• Great clutter or jumble; a total mess: made dinner and left the kitchen a shambles. (noun-plural)
• A place or scene of bloodshed or carnage. (noun-plural)
• A scene or condition of great devastation. (noun-plural)
• A slaughterhouse. (noun-plural)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "In the defense of droopy faced Christine, her life is in shambles from the start."
• "If I take up space here writing all the other theories that were once, supposedly, absolute and the foundation of all knowledge and which are now tottering if not in shambles, I'll say nothing else."
• "With the private sector in shambles, the Federal government is the only one with enough juice left to fix anything."