Showing results for "rigging"

• present participle of rig.

rigging

American  

[rig-ing] / ˈrɪg ɪŋ /

noun

• riggings
  plural

1. the ropes, chains, etc., employed to support and work the masts, yards, sails, etc., on a ship.

2. lifting or hauling tackle.

3. Informal. clothing.

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rigging British  

/ ˈrɪɡɪŋ /

noun

1. the shrouds, stays, halyards, etc, of a vessel

2. the bracing wires, struts, and lines of a biplane, balloon, etc

3. any form of lifting gear, tackle, etc

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• riggings
  plural

Etymology

Origin of rigging

First recorded in 1480–90; rig + -ing ¹

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rigging riggings

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

Prediction markets have spurred repeated allegations of skulduggery in recent months, ranging from insider trading by politicians to suspected rigging of bets on the Ukraine war.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 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

But they were all so eager to try it that soon its rigging was broken and its pennant dragging.

From "The Door in the Wall" by Marguerite de Angeli

Instead, firefighters responded to the scene with ropes and riggings and rappelled down to the man’s location.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 15, 2022

And parts of the fly system, made up of wire rope lines and riggings, had rusted.

From New York Times ● Sep. 10, 2021

After boarding their ships, the players unfurled sails, turned rudders, and climbed riggings to move between a series of tropical islands, climbing ashore to explore the new locations.

From The Verge ● Jun. 13, 2016

Back home, he fed his semi-abstracting campaign with motifs from summer sojourns in Gloucester, Massachusetts: signs, boat riggings, gas pumps.

From The New Yorker ● Jun. 13, 2016

He got down on one knee with much effort, grunting and puffing, the seams of his pants creaking like ship riggings.

From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner