rickety

adjective

rick·ety | \ˈri-kə-tē

Definition of rickety

1 : affected with rickets

2a : 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

Other locations in Europe appear less likely, the officials said, citing difficulties in getting Kim there on his rickety fleet of aircraft. — Kevin Liptak, CNN, "Trump says 'two or three' sites on table for Kim talks; US officials prefer Singapore," 27 Apr. 2018 In return for not being charged for the crime, they are required to help redecorate the rickety shop, thus pitting them against its crabby owner, Doc (Dido De La Paz). — Clarence Tsui, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Respeto': Film Review," 11 July 2018 She and a host of other Venezuelans - army deserters, laborers, nurses - arrived to a barrage of offers from touts peddling trips on rickety buses to cities such as Quito, Lima and Santiago. — Anthony Faiola, chicagotribune.com, "Venezuelans are fleeing their crisis-torn country en masse," 3 Mar. 2018 The Carryall turned out to be the ideal way to get everything into the car in one trip, and then likewise from the trunk to rickety picnic table by the fire pit. — Andrew Moseman, Popular Mechanics, "Throw Your Entire Life Into the YETI Camino Carryall 35," 25 June 2018 At the center of The Can of Anido is Maran (Xie Jia-hui), an old aboriginal farmer who spends his days silently cultivating his ailing crops and feeding himself with pintsized yam in his barren, rickety hut. — Clarence Tsui, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Ten Years Taiwan': Film Review," 13 July 2018 The one rickety section of the book is where Tyler has to set this implausible scenario in motion. — Laura Collins-hughes, BostonGlobe.com, "Waking up is hard to do," 13 July 2018 So that imagery, cradled by the trailer’s rickety score, makes for delectable nightmare fuel. — Yohana Desta, HWD, "I Am the Night: Chris Pine and Patty Jenkins Pause Wonder Woman for Noir," 2 July 2018 By August, more than 2,500 men, women, and children had drowned making the treacherous voyage across the Mediterranean in rickety boats and rafts that year, and an untold number had died trekking across the Continent. — Helene Bienvenu And Marc Santora, BostonGlobe.com, "They Let 71 People Die in Stifling Truck. They Got 25 Years.," 15 June 2018

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

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Last Updated

10 Oct 2018

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The first known use of rickety was in 1673

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More Definitions for rickety

rickety

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of rickety

: not strong or stable and likely to break

See the full definition for rickety in the English Language Learners Dictionary

rickety

adjective

rick·ety | \ˈri-kə-tē

Kids Definition of rickety

: in poor condition and likely to break Just below them, hugging the shore, rose a village of thatched huts, with a small, rickety pier, boats on the sand, and nets spread for mending.— Lloyd Alexander, Time Cat