rig

[ rig ]

/ rɪg /

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See synonyms for: rig / rigged / rigging 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.

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Origin of rig

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

OTHER WORDS FROM rig

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

Words nearby rig

rift saw, rift-sawed, rift valley, Rift Valley fever, rift zone, rig, Riga, rigadoon, rigamarole, rigatoni, rigaudon

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use rig in a sentence

I’m building my 2003 Toyota Sequoia into an overlanding rig and wanted something that would hold my phone securely and display my screen while I navigated bumpy dirt roads.
The Best Phone Mount for Your Car Costs $12|Jakob Schiller|September 20, 2020|Outside Online
The global oil market collapsed and California producers idled rigs, costing thousands of oil workers their livelihoods.
Oil Companies Are Profiting From Illegal Spills. And California Lets Them.|by Janet Wilson, The Desert Sun, and Lylla Younes, ProPublica|September 18, 2020|ProPublica
So we teamed up with Honda Talon, the ultimate family adventure rig, to create The Family Guide to Getting Outside—in an-depth and interactive article full of everything from easy-to-pull-off weeknight escapes to epic week-long road trips.
Three Family-Friendly Adventures to Try This Fall|Outside Editors|September 17, 2020|Outside Online
Given the ailing state of the oil industry, especially after the pandemic, it’s likely there will be rigs to be had for cheap.
SpaceX Wants to Build Floating Spaceports for Daily Starship Launches|Vanessa Bates Ramirez|June 19, 2020|Singularity Hub

That platform, called Odyssey, is a modified oil rig, but hasn’t seen a launch since 2014 and was relocated from Long Beach, California to Russia’s eastern seaboard earlier this year.
SpaceX Wants to Build Floating Spaceports for Daily Starship Launches|Vanessa Bates Ramirez|June 19, 2020|Singularity Hub
A tugboat improbably sits high on the bank, obscured by tall grass, a broken oil rig hangs over the water nearby.
The Congo's Forgotten Colonial Getaway|Nina Strochlic|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
The son walked alongside the fire rig that bore the flag-covered coffin.
The Flying New York Fireman Who Shined on 9/11|Michael Daly|September 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
What if a wind turbine could help make an oil rig work more efficiently?
Renewables Can Make Fossil Fuel More Efficient|The Daily Beast|May 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Eve looked very pretty in her skating rig, and she was a splendid skater, too.
The Girls of Central High on the Stage|Gertrude W. Morrison
Smith: No, my lud—ve're the rig'lar chimbly sveeps vot sveeps his ludship's chimblys.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun;|Various
The rig drew up with a rush in front of the gate, and the two officers dropped out.
Motor Matt's "Century" Run|Stanley R. Matthews
Instead of using the doctor's rig for the return to town, the officers appropriated the red roadster.
Motor Matt's "Century" Run|Stanley R. Matthews
She hired a rig of a livery-stable keeper, who said he could not possibly take her beyond the Indian agency.
Mystery Ranch|Arthur Chapman

British Dictionary definitions for rig (1 of 2)

rig¹

/ (rɪɡ) /

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

British Dictionary definitions for rig (2 of 2)

rig²

/ (rɪɡ) /

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

rig

Origin of rig

OTHER WORDS FROM rig

Words nearby rig

Words related to rig

How to use rig in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for rig (1 of 2)

Word Origin for rig

British Dictionary definitions for rig (2 of 2)

Word Origin for rig