wicket

American  

[wik-it] / ˈwɪk ɪt /

noun

wickets plural

1. a window or opening, often closed by a grating or the like, as in a door, or forming a place of communication in a ticket office, a teller's cage in a bank, etc.

2. Croquet. a hoop or arch.

3. a turnstile in an entrance.

4. a small door or gate, especially one beside, or forming part of, a larger one.

5. a small gate by which a canal lock is emptied.

6. a gate by which a flow of water is regulated, as to a waterwheel.

7. Cricket.

   1. either of the two frameworks, each consisting of three stumps with two bails in grooves across the tops, at which the bowler aims the ball.

   2. the area between these frameworks; the playing field.

   3. one batsman's turn at the wicket.

   4. the period during which two players bat together.

   5. a batsman's innings that is not completed or not begun.

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idioms

1. to be on / have / bat a sticky wicket, to be at or have a disadvantage.

wicket British  

/ ˈwɪkɪt /

noun

1. a small door or gate, esp one that is near to or part of a larger one

2. a small window or opening in a door, esp one fitted with a grating or glass pane, used as a means of communication in a ticket office, bank, etc

3. a small sluicegate, esp one in a canal lock gate or by a water wheel

4. a croquet hoop

5. 1. cricket either of two constructions, placed 22 yards apart, consisting of three pointed stumps stuck parallel in the ground with two wooden bails resting on top, at which the batsman stands

   2. the strip of ground between these

   3. a batsman's turn at batting or the period during which two batsmen bat

      a third-wicket partnership

   4. the act or instance of a batsman being got out

      the bowler took six wickets

6. to act as a wicketkeeper

7. informal in an awkward situation

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• half-wicket
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• wickets
  plural

Etymology

Origin of wicket

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English wiket, from Anglo-French; Old French guischet, from Germanic; compare Middle Dutch wiket “wicket,” equivalent to wik- (akin to Old English wīcan “to yield”; see weak) + -et, noun suffix

Explanation

A wicket is a little gate or door. In sports, wicket can refer to either the hoop you aim for when hitting a croquet ball or the stump you aim for when batting a cricket ball. The very oldest meaning of wicket is "small door or gate," and it's still used this way sometimes, especially when the door is beside or within a larger one. This type of wicket is often found in a very old garden entrance or the door to a grand castle. Since the 17th century, the cricket meaning has become the most common, although North Americans are usually talking about croquet when they mention wickets.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wicket wickets

Smriti Mandhana and captain Meg Lanning put on 33 for the opening wicket, before the former was trapped lbw by Kapp for 17.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

Tongue took one wicket in two matches and was expensive at Lord's, conceding 43 runs from five overs, while Mahmood took 2-52 in Cardiff but was rotated out for Tongue for the series finale.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

They pushed on deep into the innings, with England not losing a wicket in the first 20 overs for the first time since their victorious 2019 World Cup.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer were all caught in the deep, square of the wicket, but the crucial moment was the fall of Sooryavanshi.

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026

I make for the wicket leading to the shrubbery, and I see Mr. Rochester entering.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

Manchester Super Giants chased a target of 81 in just 59 balls as they thrashed London Spirit by seven wickets in The Hundred.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

There is also slight concern about spinner Adil Rashid, who has had a quiet 2026, taking eight wickets in ODIs and only one in this series.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

Sales ended with 25 wickets, just two off the most in the competition and on the biggest T20 stage posted figures of 4-41 from eight overs across the semi and final.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

He took four wickets in the first innings and three in the second.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

They were waiting for the wickets to open in the morning to buy tickets for the bull-fight.

From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway