rickety

[ rik-i-tee ]

/ ˈrɪk ɪ ti /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rickety ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, rick·et·i·er, rick·et·i·est.

likely to fall or collapse; shaky: a rickety chair.

feeble in the joints; tottering; infirm: a rickety old man.

old, dilapidated, or in disrepair.

irregular, as motion or action.

affected with or suffering from rickets.

pertaining to or of the nature of rickets.

Nearby words

rickettsia tsutsugamushi, rickettsial, rickettsial disease, rickettsialpox, rickettsiosis, rickety, rickey, rickey, branch, rickle, rickover, rickover, hyman george

Origin of rickety

First recorded in 1675–85; ricket(s) + -y¹

SYNONYMS FOR rickety

2 decrepit, frail, withered, unsteady, wobbly.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rickety ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsrick·et·i·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for rickety

She looks at you and then points to a rickety wooden boat about twenty-five meters from where you stand.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq|Nathan Bradley Bethea|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There were taxis, called “hackneys,” which were rickety stagecoaches cast off by the rich and repurposed as transport for hire.
Great Cities are Born Filthy|Will Doig|July 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Ray gave Jay a shell, then stepped onto a small, rickety carousel in the comer of the churchyard and loaded up.
The Stacks: The Judas Priest Teen Suicide Trial|Ivan Solotaroff|June 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
"Yeah, all right," he mutters, then follows his brothers out of the room, down a rickety flight of stairs and into the crucible.
The Stacks: The Neville Brothers Stake Their Claim as Bards of the Bayou|John Ed Bradley|April 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

We were staying in this cool, rickety, haunted hotel on Lake Michigan and just had an amazing time.
Olivia Wilde on ‘Drinking Buddies,’ Skinny-Dipping, Booze, and More|Marlow Stern|August 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The men kept the water under with the pumps, and the sharp jerk, jerk of the rickety handles rang all night.
A Dream of the North Sea|James Runciman
Ashton-Kirk nodded, but before he could reply in words there came a clatter upon the rickety stairs at the far end of the entry.
Ashton-Kirk, Investigator|John T. McIntyre
He was a dangerous man to tackle in argument if your knowledge of the subject was rickety.
Lines in Pleasant Places|William Senior
It was really bad weather, and the waves washed clean over the rickety little vessel.
A Lady's Tour in Corsica, Vol. I (of 2)|Gertrude Forde
With this reply Old Sharon held out his unwashed hand across the rickety ink-splashed table at which he was sitting.
My Lady's Money|Wilkie Collins

British Dictionary definitions for rickety

rickety

/ (ˈrɪkɪtɪ) /

adjective

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

feeble with age or illness; infirm

relating to, resembling, or afflicted with rickets

Derived Formsricketiness, noun

Word Origin for rickety

C17: from rickets

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for rickety

rickety

adj.

"liable to fall down," 1680s, from rickets (with + -y (2)), via notion of "weak, unhealthy." Literal sense is from c.1720 but never common in English. Of material things, from 1799.

rickety

adjective, rick·et·i·er, rick·et·i·est.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of rickety

Examples from the Web for rickety

British Dictionary definitions for rickety

rickety

adjective

Word Origin for rickety

Word Origin and History for rickety

rickety