rigger

American  

[rig-er] / ˈrɪg ər /

noun

riggers plural

1. a person who rigs.

2. a person whose occupation is the fitting of the rigging of ships.

3. a person who works with hoisting tackle, cranes, scaffolding, etc.

4. a protective structure around a construction site.

5. Aeronautics.

   1. a mechanic skilled in the assembly, adjustment, and alignment of aircraft control surfaces, wings, and the like.

   2. parachute rigger.

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rigger British  

/ ˈrɪɡə /

noun

1. a workman who rigs vessels, etc

2. rowing a bracket on a racing shell or other boat to support a projecting rowlock

3. a person skilled in the use of pulleys, lifting gear, cranes, etc

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• riggers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of rigger

First recorded in 1605–15; rig + -er ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rigger riggers

The worker, a rigger, was working on Marvel Studios’ “Wonder Man” at Radford Studio Center in the San Fernando Valley when the incident occurred.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2024

The man, who was working as a rigger - someone who sets up scaffolding on film and TV sets - later died of his injuries.

From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2024

The man, whose name was not made public, was a rigger who fell from the rafters, according to the trade publication Deadline, which first reported the news.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 6, 2024

But he remained best known for “Five Easy Pieces,” which starred Nicholson as rebellious oil rigger Bobby Dupea, a former concert pianist who has given up his artistic ambitions and rejected his privileged upbringing.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 25, 2022

He went on to train as a parachute rigger and was sent to Panama.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge

Workers taking action include electrical, production and mechanical technicians in addition to deck crew, scaffolders crane operators, pipefitters, platers and riggers.

From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2023

He writes about drone operators, prison guards, poultry plant workers, and oil riggers.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2021

A lot of places we have to have riggers help us.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 7, 2021

“These people were quitting Harvard to their families’ mortification, to go sail around the world on the last of the large square riggers here in Southern California.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 15, 2021

Stevedores and riggers by the hundreds strained against winches and loaded crates of rations and ammunition into the holds of the warships snugged into their berths.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly