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.
“Trucks are also called rigs. Rigging is a verb as well as a noun. … Every piece of rigging is rigged by rigging.”
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2021
Bigge Crane and Rigging Co., which owns the downed crane, had representatives in Dallas Monday to assist and cooperate with OSHA’s investigation, said Randy Smith, the California-based equipment rental company’s lawyer.
From Washington Times • Jun. 10, 2019
The Bigge Crane and Rigging employees were fired following their "abhorrent" behavior cleaning up the town of Paradise, in Butte County, which was destroyed by the deadly Camp Fire.
From Fox News • Dec. 16, 2018
The three men were employed by a subcontractor of Clark Construction, Bigge Crane and Rigging, which was not named in their complaints.
From New York Times • Jun. 22, 2018
The Rigging of the Vessel—An Attack from Foxes—Jup wounded—Jup cured—Completion of the Boat—Pencroft's Triumph—The Bonadventure's trial Trip to the South of the Island—An unexpected Document.
From Abandoned by Verne, Jules
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.
