rickets

American  

[rik-its] / ˈrɪk ɪts /

noun

Pathology.

1. a disease of childhood, characterized by softening of the bones as a result of inadequate intake of vitamin D and insufficient exposure to sunlight, also associated with impaired calcium and phosphorus metabolism.

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rickets British  

/ ˈrɪkɪts /

noun

1. (functioning as singular or plural) pathol a disease mainly of children, characterized by softening of developing bone, and hence bow legs, malnutrition, and enlargement of the liver and spleen, caused by a deficiency of vitamin D

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rickets Scientific  

/ rĭk′ĭts /

1. A bone disease seen mostly in children, caused by a deficiency of vitamin D, usually as a result of inadequate dietary intake or lack of exposure to sunlight. This deficiency causes decreased calcium absorption from the intestine and abnormalities in formation and mineralization of skeletal bone, resulting in defective bone growth and deformity.

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Etymology

Origin of rickets

First recorded in 1635–45; origin uncertain

Explanation

Rickets is a childhood disease that's caused by a lack of vitamin D. Rickets results in malformation of the bones. There are many diseases that result from poor nutrition, and rickets is one of these. If a child doesn't get enough vitamin D through food and sunlight, his bones can become curved, soft, or brittle. Someone who is bowlegged — whose legs curve out — may have had rickets as a child. Rickets is less common these days, due to better nutrition. The word rickets is thought to be a version of the Greek word for "inflammation of the spine," rhachitis.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rickets

They remind us that nostalgia for the food culture of our grandparents overlooks the prevalence of rickets, pellagra and food-poisoning in those days, to say nothing of hunger.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026

Kennedy loves to talk about "chronic disease," but doesn't mention how once-common disabling conditions like gout, rickets, polio injury, or consumption have disappeared.

From Salon ● Mar. 11, 2025

He was a bow-legged child who had rickets, but was able to escape poverty in San Francisco because he was an extremely good runner.

From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2024

He had rickets as a child and was left with spindly, bowed legs that attracted taunts from neighborhood kids.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2024

The cap’n was doing the ’zact same thing, ’cept that Ma hadn’t wanted no one to see her chests, whilst the cap’n didn’t want no one to see his rickets.

From "The Journey of Little Charlie" by Christopher Paul Curtis