rusty

[ruhs-tee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR rusty ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, rust·i·er, rust·i·est.

covered with or affected by rust.

consisting of or produced by rust.

of or tending toward the color rust; rust-colored.

faded or shabby; impaired by time or wear, as clothes or drapery.

impaired through disuse or neglect: My Latin is rusty.

having lost agility or alertness; out of practice: I am a bit rusty at tennis.

(of a sound) grating or harsh.

Origin of rusty

before 900; Middle English rusti, Old English rūstig; see rust, -y¹

Related formsrust·i·ly, adverbrust·i·ness, noun

rusty

[ruhs-tee]

adjective, rust·i·er, rust·i·est.

restive; stubborn: a rusty horse.

Chiefly Dialect. ill-tempered; cross.

Origin of rusty

1555–65; apparently special use of rusty¹; but compare obsolete resty restive

Rusty

[ruhs-tee]

noun

a male or female given name.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for rusty

decayed, rusted, deficient, impaired, neglected, sluggish, soft, stale, unqualified, weak, unpracticed

Examples from the Web for rusty

Contemporary Examples of rusty

But, still, week after week, Addison lived in a Dili hostel waiting for the rusty wheels of Timorese justice to set her free.
Let’s Free Stacey Addison, The Oregon Woman Jailed at the Ends of the Earth
Christopher Dickey
October 30, 2014
Across the world, a rusty World War II fort floats off the English coast.
Discovering Underground Labyrinths, Remote Cities, and More of the World’s Lost Places
Nina Strochlic
July 8, 2014
Rusty and squeaky, in need of maintenance and oil, the tank had not lost its destructive skills.
Ukraine Wants to Seal Its Russian Border
Anna Nemtsova
July 2, 2014
His cause, like a rusty old jalopy, is falling apart before he turned the key.
How the Tide Turned on Gay Marriage
Michael Signer
June 20, 2014
“The chemical aspect of Spice is unique and new,” Rusty Payne, spokesperson for the DEA tells me.
How Pfizer Helped Make ‘Spice,’ The Deadly Fake Pot
Abby Haglage
May 17, 2014

Historical Examples of rusty

A few seconds more and he heard the creaking of rusty hinges.
Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates
Howard Pyle
But Mr Verloc was not in the least conscious of having got rusty.
The Secret Agent
Joseph Conrad
If there are yellow streaks in the lean of the bacon, it is rusty, and unfit to eat.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie
Moreover, the coach suited the day: the rusty was in harmony with the dismal.
The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 10, No. 58, August, 1862
Various
The door had not been opened in a number of years, and the hinges were rusty.
Frank Roscoe's Secret
Allen Chapman

British Dictionary definitions for rusty

rusty

adjective rustier or rustiest

covered with, affected by, or consisting of rusta rusty machine; a rusty deposit

of the colour rust

discoloured by agea rusty coat

(of the voice) tending to croak

old-fashioned in appearance; seemingly antiquateda rusty old gentleman

out of practice; impaired in skill or knowledge by inaction or neglect

(of plants) affected by the rust fungus

Derived Formsrustily, adverbrustiness, noun

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

Word Origin and History for rusty

adj.

Old English rustig; see rust (n.) + -y (2). Cognate with Frisian roastich, Middle Dutch roestich, Dutch roestig, Old High German rostag, German rostig. "In the 16th and 17th centuries frequently used as a term of general disparagement" [OED]. Of bodily skills, "impaired by neglect," from c.1500; of mental qualities, accomplishments, etc., first attested 1796.