rigging
Americannoun
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the ropes, chains, etc., employed to support and work the masts, yards, sails, etc., on a ship.
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lifting or hauling tackle.
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Informal. clothing.
noun
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the shrouds, stays, halyards, etc, of a vessel
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the bracing wires, struts, and lines of a biplane, balloon, etc
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any form of lifting gear, tackle, etc
Etymology
Origin of rigging
Explanation
Everything on a sailboat or ship that holds the sails up is its rigging. The rigging typically includes masts and ropes. Sometimes the term rigging is used for just about everything on a sailing vessel, including the sails themselves. You can also use this noun for the process of adjusting or setting up these parts, either on a ship or an airship, parachute, or hang-glider. Rigging comes from the verb rig, which was originally nautical and meant just "to fit with sails."
Vocabulary lists containing rigging
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Meta, meanwhile, is still going strong but has experienced its own earthquakes: from privacy scandals and election rigging accusations to teen mental health crises and toxic online harms.
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026
These workers control everything from individually steaming each stage curtain to rigging massive pieces of audio equipment.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026
Angry Iranians have taken to the streets with increasing frequency over the past decade, mobilizing over allegations of election rigging in 2009, women’s rights in 2022, and, late last year, the worsening economic crisis.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026
The controversy around Ms Dzafce is a postscript to a chaotic Miss Universe pageant hosted in Thailand that had been hounded by walkouts and allegations of rigging.
From BBC • Dec. 16, 2025
The heraldic sails of Ban’s fleet, and the sailors in the rigging, and the armed turrets and archers and seagulls, like flake-white, had been a background to their conversation.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
