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
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
When Ken Fulk and Kurt Wootton purchased what would become Durham Ranch—named after one of their dogs—the California wine country property was in disrepair, with a derelict 1940s ranch house and a handful of rickety outbuildings.
—Mark David, Robb Report, 17 Mar. 2026
And third, after years of gerrymandering and Republican consolidation of power, the Democratic turnout machine is exceedingly rickety.
—Tad Friend, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rickety
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Katie Decker-Jacoby, StyleCaster, 26 Mar. 2026
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
When Ken Fulk and Kurt Wootton purchased what would become Durham Ranch—named after one of their dogs—the California wine country property was in disrepair, with a derelict 1940s ranch house and a handful of rickety outbuildings.
—Mark David, Robb Report, 17 Mar. 2026
And third, after years of gerrymandering and Republican consolidation of power, the Democratic turnout machine is exceedingly rickety.
—Tad Friend, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rickety
Cite this Entry
“Rickety.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rickety. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids 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
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