Meanings
- Built cheaply and shoddily.
1832, Liverpool Mercury, ‘…members of the Bluebell Club, the Jerry-Building society, &c…’ (via https://theprioryandthecastironshore.wordpress.com/2017/07/06/jerry-builder-origin-of-the-term/)
2 more examples
He had tried other building speculations, had run up other “jerry-built” houses, and had failed utterly, hopelessly.
1859, August 6, Albany Fonblanque, Junr., Once a Week, article Sebastopol VillaReigns supreme for jerry-built Houses tricked out with gorgeous gilt, Like cakes o' gingerbread, that crumble, And in another century 'll tumble
1859, L. B. E, Cottoniron; a Poem, part 1, canto 3
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivebadly or hastily built
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Unknown; there are many theories. I was led to believe it referred to houses built by German pow’s See jerry (possibly etymologically related).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 偷工減料建成的 /偷工减料建成的, 豆腐渣
- 偷工減料建成的 /偷工减料建成的 (tōugōngjiǎnliào jiànchéng de)built cheaply
- 豆腐渣 (dòufuzhā)built cheaply
Czech fušersky postavený, chatrný
- fušersky postavenýbuilt cheaply
- chatrnýbuilt cheaply
- stavěný narychlobuilt cheaply
Finnish juosten kustu
- juosten kustubuilt cheaply
French vite fait, bâclé
- vite faitbuilt cheaply
- bâclébuilt cheaply
German zusammengepfuscht, stümperhaft gebaut
- zusammengepfuschtbuilt cheaply
- stümperhaft gebautbuilt cheaply
- schlampig gebautbuilt cheaply
Polish zbudowany tandetnie
- zbudowany tandetniebuilt cheaply
Cite this entry
jerry-built. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jerry-built
“jerry-built.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jerry-built. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “jerry-built,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jerry-built.
Source: jerry-built on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.