rickets

noun, plural in form but singular in construction

rick·ets | \ ˈri-kəts

Definition of rickets

: a deficiency disease that affects the young during the period of skeletal growth, is characterized especially by soft and deformed bones, and is caused by failure to assimilate and use calcium and phosphorus normally due to inadequate sunlight or vitamin D

Examples of rickets in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The athlete overcame several health struggles in his childhood before embarking on his career in sports, including asthma, rickets and a heart murmur, according to the MLB. — Ally Mauch, PEOPLE.com, "Legendary Baseball Hall of Famer Bob Gibson Dies at 84," 3 Oct. 2020 Gibson’s early years were filled with medical troubles — rickets, pneumonia, asthma, hay fever and a heart problem. — Rick Hummel, chicagotribune.com, "Cardinals Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, one of baseball’s most dominating pitchers of all time, dies of cancer at age 84," 2 Oct. 2020 For example, it has been known to medical science since 1920 that rickets, a debilitating skeletal disease, can be cured by vitamin D. — Robert Zubrin, National Review, "The FDA Is Stifling Pharmaceutical Innovation," 2 Sep. 2020 Researchers found no signs of rickets, scurvy or anemia—diseases caused by nutrient deficiencies that can warp the skeleton. — Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, "How Did the Norman Conquest Change English Cuisine?," 8 July 2020 Possibly for this reason, skeletal signs of diseases like scurvy and rickets were rare in people from early medieval Oxford, both before and after 1066. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, "The Norman Conquest didn’t change ordinary people’s lives very much," 6 July 2020 Malnutrition sometimes reaches right down to the bone: in children who don’t get enough vitamin D over a long period of time, growing bones are weak and bend into abnormal shapes, a condition called rickets. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, "The Norman Conquest didn’t change ordinary people’s lives very much," 6 July 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'rickets.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.