Showing results for "rigging"

• present participle of rig.

rigging

American  

[rig-ing] / ˈrɪg ɪŋ /

noun

• riggings
  plural

1. the ropes, chains, etc., employed to support and work the masts, yards, sails, etc., on a ship.

2. lifting or hauling tackle.

3. Informal. clothing.

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rigging British  

/ ˈrɪɡɪŋ /

noun

1. the shrouds, stays, halyards, etc, of a vessel

2. the bracing wires, struts, and lines of a biplane, balloon, etc

3. any form of lifting gear, tackle, etc

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• riggings
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of rigging

First recorded in 1480–90; rig + -ing ¹

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Explanation

Everything on a sailboat or ship that holds the sails up is its rigging. The rigging typically includes masts and ropes. Sometimes the term rigging is used for just about everything on a sailing vessel, including the sails themselves. You can also use this noun for the process of adjusting or setting up these parts, either on a ship or an airship, parachute, or hang-glider. Rigging comes from the verb rig, which was originally nautical and meant just "to fit with sails."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rigging riggings

It has added rigging and fencing businesses and is pursuing work in live events and sports alongside film and TV.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

"It's rigging the game to win rather than playing by the rules," said Koneschusky, the former Senate aide.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

To create the sequence, Nolan’s team built a sort of silo on the beach, rigging it with minuscule LED lights to mimic sunlight leaking through chinks in the horse’s hull.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

Prediction markets have spurred repeated allegations of skulduggery in recent months, ranging from insider trading by politicians to suspected rigging of bets on the Ukraine war.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026

The Lillian B. Womrath couldn’t move because her nose was stuck in the Wasp’s rigging.

From "Stuart Little" by E.B. White

Instead, firefighters responded to the scene with ropes and riggings and rappelled down to the man’s location.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 15, 2022

And parts of the fly system, made up of wire rope lines and riggings, had rusted.

From New York Times ● Sep. 10, 2021

After boarding their ships, the players unfurled sails, turned rudders, and climbed riggings to move between a series of tropical islands, climbing ashore to explore the new locations.

From The Verge ● Jun. 13, 2016

Back home, he fed his semi-abstracting campaign with motifs from summer sojourns in Gloucester, Massachusetts: signs, boat riggings, gas pumps.

From The New Yorker ● Jun. 13, 2016

Thyon’s boyhood bed was shaped like a war brig, complete with real sails and riggings, and even miniature cannons, so heavy it took the strength of two maids to rock him to sleep.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

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