wicket

American  

[wik-it] / ˈwɪk ɪt /

noun

1. a window or opening, often closed by a grating or the like, as in a door, or forming a place of communication in a ticket office, a teller's cage in a bank, etc.

2. Croquet. a hoop or arch.

3. a turnstile in an entrance.

4. a small door or gate, especially one beside, or forming part of, a larger one.

5. a small gate by which a canal lock is emptied.

6. a gate by which a flow of water is regulated, as to a waterwheel.

7. Cricket.

   1. either of the two frameworks, each consisting of three stumps with two bails in grooves across the tops, at which the bowler aims the ball.

   2. the area between these frameworks; the playing field.

   3. one batsman's turn at the wicket.

   4. the period during which two players bat together.

   5. a batsman's innings that is not completed or not begun.

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idioms

1. to be on / have / bat a sticky wicket, to be at or have a disadvantage.

wicket British  

/ ˈwɪkɪt /

noun

1. a small door or gate, esp one that is near to or part of a larger one

2. a small window or opening in a door, esp one fitted with a grating or glass pane, used as a means of communication in a ticket office, bank, etc

3. a small sluicegate, esp one in a canal lock gate or by a water wheel

4. a croquet hoop

5. 1. cricket either of two constructions, placed 22 yards apart, consisting of three pointed stumps stuck parallel in the ground with two wooden bails resting on top, at which the batsman stands

   2. the strip of ground between these

   3. a batsman's turn at batting or the period during which two batsmen bat

      a third-wicket partnership

   4. the act or instance of a batsman being got out

      the bowler took six wickets

6. to act as a wicketkeeper

7. informal in an awkward situation

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Other Word Forms

• half-wicket noun

Etymology

Origin of wicket

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English wiket, from Anglo-French; Old French guischet, from Germanic; compare Middle Dutch wiket “wicket,” equivalent to wik- (akin to Old English wīcan “to yield”; weak ) + -et, noun suffix

Explanation

A wicket is a little gate or door. In sports, wicket can refer to either the hoop you aim for when hitting a croquet ball or the stump you aim for when batting a cricket ball. The very oldest meaning of wicket is "small door or gate," and it's still used this way sometimes, especially when the door is beside or within a larger one. This type of wicket is often found in a very old garden entrance or the door to a grand castle. Since the 17th century, the cricket meaning has become the most common, although North Americans are usually talking about croquet when they mention wickets.

Example Sentences

That position when strengthened when Luis Reece was seventh out, leg before wicket to Mitch Stanley for 10 with 47 runs still needed for victory.

From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026

Their first wicket was a gift, however, when Rory Burns ran himself out in the third over.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

The right-arm medium pacer had figures of 5-2 at that point and also took a wicket with the first ball of his third over to make it six wickets in eight balls.

From BBC • Mar. 8, 2026

But an 84-run stand off just 47 deliveries for the seventh wicket between Cole McConchie and Santner enabled them to set a tricky target on a turning pitch.

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

The great gates were closed and locked; but a wicket in one of them was only latched.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë