rickety

adjective

rick·​ety ˈri-kə-tē 

1

: affected with rickets

2

a

: lacking stability or firmness : shaky sense 2a

a rickety coalition

b

: in unsound physical condition

rickety veterans

rickety stairs

Examples of rickety in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Your sunnies should be comfortable and durable, not rickety! — Katie Decker-Jacoby, StyleCaster, 26 Mar. 2026

The result was a gleaming skyscraper held up by some rickety wooden boards, duct tape, and magic. — Ian Stokes, Space.com, 14 Nov. 2025

Still, those sorts of phony statements have deeply diminished faith in our elections and our increasingly rickety democracy. — Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2026

They will now be soldered together to form a financially rickety public hospital system. — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 7 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1673, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

rickety

adjective

rick·​ety ˈrik-ət-ē 

1

: in weak physical condition

a rickety old man

2

: unsound sense 3, shaky

a rickety wagon

Medical Definition

rickety

adjective

rick·​ety ˈrik-ət-ē 

: affected with rickets : rachitic