rig

[rig]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rig ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), rigged, rig·ging.

Chiefly Nautical.

to put in proper order for working or use.
to fit (a ship, mast, etc.) with the necessary shrouds, stays, etc.
to fit (shrouds, stays, sails, etc.) to the mast, yard, or the like.

to furnish or provide with equipment, clothing, etc.; fit (usually followed by out or up).

to assemble, install, or prepare (often followed by up).

to manipulate fraudulently: to rig prices.

noun

the arrangement of the masts, spars, sails, etc., on a boat or ship.

apparatus for some purpose; equipment; outfit; gear: a hi-fi rig; Bring your rod and reel and all the rest of your fishing rig.

Also called drill rig. the equipment used in drilling an oil well.

any combination trucking unit in which vehicles are hooked together, as a tractor-trailer.

any kind of truck.

a carriage, buckboard, sulky, or wagon together with the horse or horses that draw it.

Informal. costume or dress, especially when odd or conspicuous, or when designated for a particular purpose: He looks quite nifty in a butler's rig.

Verb Phrases

rig down, Nautical. to place in an inactive state, stowing all lines, tackles, and other removable parts.

rig up, to equip or set up for use.

Origin of rig

1480–90; 1930–35 for def 4; probably < Scandinavian; compare Norwegian, Swedish rigg (noun), rigga (v.)

Related formsout·rig, verb (used with object), out·rigged, out·rig·ging.o·ver·rigged, adjectiveun·der·rigged, adjective

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

Related Words for rig

machinery, equip, furnish, fix, manipulate, falsify, equipage, apparatus, paraphernalia, outfit, tackle, gear, fixtures, appoint, accouter, provision, kit, costume, attire

Examples from the Web for rig

Contemporary Examples of rig

Blue Book on this rig is about $750,000, and we got it for nothing.
Why Does My Kids’ Elementary School Need a Tank?
Andy Hinds
September 13, 2014
You do that to a certain extent with performance capture by the way you calibrate the model of Caesar—or the rig, as we call it.
Motion Capture Maestro Andy Serkis on ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ and Revolutionizing Cinema
Marlow Stern
July 8, 2014
In 1971, a team of Soviet scientists was drilling at the site when their rig collapsed into a cavernous pocket of natural gas.
A Fiery Pit Rages in the Turkmenistan Desert
Nina Strochlic
August 1, 2013
It is the mark of a desperate party trying to rig the election results to stay in power for as long as it can.
Republicans’ Nefarious Election Ploy
John Avlon
January 27, 2013
When Colin bit, they had control of it and the rig shot fake blood out of a tube.
Colin Farrell Licked Me!
Emily Montague
August 19, 2011

Historical Examples of rig

Even as he was speaking they had helped Mortimer from the rig.
Thoroughbreds
W. A. Fraser
"I'll send the rig in, t'morrow, if there's anything yuh want," he remarked.
Chip, of the Flying U
B. M. Bower
I can rig up a handy horse-stall with my spare spars and the grating.
Micah Clarke
Arthur Conan Doyle
Why, it's a mad thing you are doing, coming to meet me in that rig out!
A Nest of Spies
Pierre Souvestre
But, as you need him, I suppose I must get my rig and driver somewhere else.
Cy Whittaker's Place
Joseph C. Lincoln

British Dictionary definitions for rig

rig

verb rigs, rigging or rigged (tr)

nautical to equip (a vessel, mast, etc) with (sails, rigging, etc)

nautical to set up or prepare ready for use

to put the components of (an aircraft, etc) into their correct positions

to manipulate in a fraudulent manner, esp for profitto rig prices; to rig an election

noun

nautical the distinctive arrangement of the sails, masts, and other spars of a vessel

the installation used in drilling for and exploiting natural oil and gas depositsan oil rig In full: drilling rig

apparatus or equipment; gear

an amateur radio operator's transmitting and receiving set

US and Canadian a carriage together with one or more horses

mainly US and Canadian an articulated lorry

Word Origin for rig

C15: from Scandinavian; related to Norwegian rigga to wrap

rig

noun

Scot and Northern English dialect a ridge or raised strip of unploughed land in a ploughed field

Word Origin for rig

a variant of ridge

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 rig

late 15c., originally nautical, "to fit with sails," probably from a Scandinavian source (cf. Danish, Norwegian rigge "to equip," Swedish rigga "to rig, harness"), though these may be from English; perhaps ultimately from PIE *reig- "to bind." Slang meaning "to pre-arrange or tamper with results" is attested from 1938, perhaps a different word, from rig (n.) "a trick, swindle, scheme" (1775), earlier "sport, banter, ridicule" (1725), of unknown origin. Also there is rig (v.) "ransack" from 1560s, likewise of unknown origin. Related: Rigged; rigging.

"distinctive arrangement of sails, masts, etc. on a ship," 1822, from rig (v.). Extended to costume, clothing outfit (1843); horse-drawn vehicle (1831), which led to sense of "truck, bus, etc." (1851); and apparatus for well-sinking (1875).