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• rusty
  rusty

  adjective

  covered with or affected by rust.
• Rusty
  Rusty

  noun

  a male or female given name.

rusty

¹ American  

[ruhs-tee] / ˈrʌs ti /

adjective

• rustier,
  comparative
• rustiest
  superlative

1. covered with or affected by rust.

2. consisting of or produced by rust.

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

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

5. impaired through disuse or neglect.

   My Latin is rusty.

6. having lost agility or alertness; out of practice.

   I am a bit rusty at tennis.

7. (of a sound) grating or harsh.

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rusty ² American  

[ruhs-tee] / ˈrʌs ti /

adjective

• rustier,
  comparative
• rustiest
  superlative

1. restive; stubborn.

   a rusty horse.

2. Chiefly Dialect. ill-tempered; cross.

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Rusty ³ American  

[ruhs-tee] / ˈrʌs ti /

noun

1. a male or female given name.

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rusty British  

/ ˈrʌstɪ /

adjective

1. covered with, affected by, or consisting of rust

   a rusty machine

   a rusty deposit

2. of the colour rust

3. discoloured by age

   a rusty coat

4. (of the voice) tending to croak

5. old-fashioned in appearance; seemingly antiquated

   a rusty old gentleman

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

7. (of plants) affected by the rust fungus

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• rustiness
  noun
• rustily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Adjectives

• rustier
  comparative
• rustiest
  superlative

Etymology

Origin of rusty¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English rusti, Old English rūstig; see origin at rust, -y ¹

Origin of rusty²

First recorded in 1555–65; apparently special use of rusty ¹, but compare obsolete resty restive

Explanation

If your German is rusty, it's like the bike you left out in the rain too many times that turned brown and flakey on the metal parts. Like your bike, your German skills became rusty, meaning they're suffering from neglect. You can also describe yourself as rusty: you used to do flips on your skateboard, but you haven't practiced in a while and now you're a little rusty. Rusty can also refer to the color of rust, which is a reddish-brown — a rusty-colored dog, for instance. Anything made of iron or steel that you leave outside in the elements is likely to oxidize and become rusty, covered with rust.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rusty Rusty rustier rustiest

The shutdown had to happen because the buildings had become leaky and rusty and needed a complete overhaul.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

Patients with sickle-cell disease have described their pain as “stabbing, pulverizing,” as if “bones were being sawed by a rusty blade.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

Yet these survivors are so hard-wired to be fearful of their neighbors that Hig and Cima’s rusty, tentative flirtation takes place under the gaze of her daddy’s gun, a heck of a chaperone.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

The shadowed portion could also develop a rusty or copper colored tint.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026

A large evil-looking rat, covered in tattoos and carrying a rusty cutlass, had turned up at the gate.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

“Jon could outlift virtually all of our defensive backs, and a lot of our wide receivers,” said Florida strength coach Rusty Whitt, who doubles as Sumrall’s workout partner.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

There are Oompa-Loompas of various sizes, including Rusty Goffe, from the 1971 film, who perform Oompa-Loompa dances and sing Oompa-Loompa songs and are seen offstage pushing buttons and pulling levers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

“Every endorsement we make is earned, not given,” California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks said in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026

He looks a lot like Rusty, but is much smaller.

From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026

Rusty red thing, one of those old American Flyer models.

From "Freak The Mighty" by Rodman Philbrick

The tall flowers shot up out of spiky, gray-green leaves and were brilliant against darker, rustier tones in the yards.

From Salon ● Apr. 15, 2023

A metal handle can be more lightweight and sturdy, but it may also be colder and rustier.

From New York Times ● Feb. 16, 2023

BEREA, Ohio — Deshaun Watson felt the crowd’s anger while juggling his own nerves and emotions in a return that was rustier than expected last week.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 8, 2022

My own feed—I lived in San Francisco before moving to Cleveland—had the vapors, offering up rustier alternatives—just move to the Midwest!—as morally and fiscally superior and doubling down on the fetishization of cheap real estate.

From Slate ● Mar. 7, 2018

Just an old hammer and a few rusted tin cans holding some even rustier nails.

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool

She’s a photographer named Alyssha Eve Csuk, and she grew up in the Rust Belt, beside the rustiest spot in America.

From Slate ● Mar. 10, 2015

And thus, perhaps the rustiest of the Rust Belt cities has a reason to go wild, writes Yahoo.com’s Les Carpenter.

From New York Times ● Sep. 26, 2011

With few exceptions, the critical essays that make up most of The Vonnegut Statement are founded on the rustiest claptrap in literary exegesis.

From Time Magazine Archive

She sorted through them carefully, and selected the oldest, biggest, blackest, rustiest key.They went into the drawing room.

From "Coraline" by Neil Gaiman

There sat Arthur, muffled in an old rug, before a wretched fire, in the dirtiest, rustiest grate he had ever seen.

From There & Back by George MacDonald