rickety

American  

[rik-i-tee] / ˈrɪk ɪ ti /

adjective

ricketier, ricketiest

1. likely to fall or collapse; shaky.

   a rickety chair.

2. feeble in the joints; tottering; infirm.

   a rickety old man.

   Synonyms:

   wobbly, unsteady, frail, decrepit

3. old, dilapidated, or in disrepair.

4. irregular, as motion or action.

5. affected with or having rickets.

6. relating to or of the nature of rickets.

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rickety British  

/ ˈrɪkɪtɪ /

adjective

1. (of a structure, piece of furniture, etc) likely to collapse or break; shaky

2. feeble with age or illness; infirm

3. relating to, resembling, or afflicted with rickets

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Other Word Forms

• ricketiness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of rickety

First recorded in 1675–85; ricket(s) + -y ¹

Explanation

Something rickety — like an old shack — is shaky and likely to fall down because it's fragile. Some buildings are sturdy, solid, and strong. Others are rickety: rickety things might blow over from a slight breeze. Rickety things are poorly designed or have just become rickety because of aging. Rickety things tend to shake, which is a sign they might fall apart any second. If you put a heavy load in a rickety cart, you might lost your load!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rickety ricketier ricketiest

Eventually, one too many social gaffes have stacked up into a rickety pile, and Joe can’t help but play the Big Bad Wolf.

From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026

But the 80-kilometre journey on the eastern DRC's infamously rickety and bumpy roads damaged the coffin, exposing the Ebola-ridden corpse to the world.

From Barron's ● May 24, 2026

I came across it late in the making of the documentary, but I have footage from 1996 at Mardi Gras in Sydney, this rickety footage.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026

But after this defeat, the fighter who once drove around Leeds in his rickety car trying to sell tickets can leave knowing he gave the sport everything he had.

From BBC ● Feb. 21, 2026

At school his back ached from sitting in a stiff chair, and the desks were so rickety it was a challenge to write neatly.

From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins

The evening’s ricketier segments involved Ms. LuPone and Mr. Patinkin’s headlong dive into the emotional thickets of two classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals: “South Pacific” and “Carousel.”

From New York Times ● Nov. 22, 2011

Well, a big ship, an uncommonly bad sort of railway car, and the ricketiest little buggy that ever a man trusted his life to.

From Dr. Wortle's School by Anthony Trollope

Related Words

• broken
• decrepit
• derelict
• dilapidated
• flimsy
• ramshackle
• shaky
• wobbly