A state of total disorder or chaos. After the party, the house was left in a complete shambles.
A place of great disorder or confusion. The office was a shambles after the unexpected resignation of the manager.
A scene of destruction or devastation. The battlefield was a shambles after the intense fighting.
An abattoir or place where animals are butchered; a slaughterhouse (now chiefly historical). In medieval times, cattle were driven through the streets to the shambles for slaughter.
A table or stall at which meat was sold in an open-air market (archaic). The butcher stood behind his shambles on market day, calling out to passers-by.