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• rusty
  rusty

  adjective

  covered with or affected by rust.
• Rusty
  Rusty

  noun

  a male or female given name.

rusty

¹ American  

[ruhs-tee] / ˈrʌs ti /

adjective

rustier, rustiest

1. covered with or affected by rust.

2. consisting of or produced by rust.

3. of or tending toward the color rust; rust-colored.

4. faded or shabby; impaired by time or wear, as clothes or drapery.

5. impaired through disuse or neglect.

   My Latin is rusty.

6. having lost agility or alertness; out of practice.

   I am a bit rusty at tennis.

7. (of a sound) grating or harsh.

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rusty ² American  

[ruhs-tee] / ˈrʌs ti /

adjective

rustier, rustiest

1. restive; stubborn.

   a rusty horse.

2. Chiefly Dialect. ill-tempered; cross.

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Rusty ³ American  

[ruhs-tee] / ˈrʌs ti /

noun

1. a male or female given name.

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rusty British  

/ ˈrʌstɪ /

adjective

1. covered with, affected by, or consisting of rust

   a rusty machine

   a rusty deposit

2. of the colour rust

3. discoloured by age

   a rusty coat

4. (of the voice) tending to croak

5. old-fashioned in appearance; seemingly antiquated

   a rusty old gentleman

6. out of practice; impaired in skill or knowledge by inaction or neglect

7. (of plants) affected by the rust fungus

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Other Word Forms

• rustily
  adverb
• rustiness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of rusty¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English rusti, Old English rūstig; see origin at rust, -y ¹

Origin of rusty²

First recorded in 1555–65; apparently special use of rusty ¹, but compare obsolete resty restive

Explanation

If your German is rusty, it's like the bike you left out in the rain too many times that turned brown and flakey on the metal parts. Like your bike, your German skills became rusty, meaning they're suffering from neglect. You can also describe yourself as rusty: you used to do flips on your skateboard, but you haven't practiced in a while and now you're a little rusty. Rusty can also refer to the color of rust, which is a reddish-brown — a rusty-colored dog, for instance. Anything made of iron or steel that you leave outside in the elements is likely to oxidize and become rusty, covered with rust.

Example Sentences

"Rusty Ron comes here and rolls a bit of the dice and some of the time they're sixes, but most of the time they're ones in the last three years," said O'Sullivan.

From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026

Glover has said he will take with him a Bible, his wedding rings and family heirlooms, along with a collection of inspirational quotations compiled by Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart.

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026

Students stand in a circle as an instructor, Rusty Trzpuc, who wears a leather belt imprinted with the word “sold” on the back, claps out a metronomic beat.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 28, 2025

They later went on to have two more boys: Oliver, 5, and Rusty, 3.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 28, 2025

They reached a Rusty city around daybreak, a cluster of unremarkable buildings stranded on the sea of sand.

From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld