rickety

adjective rick·ety \ ˈri-kə-tē \

|Updated on: 15 Aug 2018

Definition of rickety

1 : affected with rickets

2 a : lacking stability or firmness : shaky 2a

a rickety coalition

b : in unsound physical condition

rickety veterans

rickety stairs

See rickety defined for English-language learners

See rickety defined for kids

Recent Examples of rickety from the Web

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
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.

— marc santora, New York Times, "They Let 71 People Die in a Stifling Truck. They Got 25 Years.," 14 June 2018
There’s usually a line, Mexicans and not, and eaters scattered everywhere—on the curb, on milk crates, on rickety chairs, or just standing around.

— gustavo arellano, Bon Appetit, "Alebrije’s Is My Taco Truck and Also My Office," 6 June 2018
Abel smartly juxtaposes this fateful summer of structured activities and unstructured hormones with regular flashbacks that reveal the rickety frame on which Camp Llamalo came to be.

— ellen emry heltzel, The Seattle Times, "Heather Abel’s sly ‘The Optimistic Decade’ is an exceptional coming-of-age novel," 5 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.

First Known Use of rickety

1673

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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RICKETY Defined for English Language Learners

rickety

adjective

Definition of rickety for English Language Learners

: not strong or stable and likely to break

RICKETY Defined for Kids

rickety

adjective rick·ety \ ˈri-kə-tē \

Definition of rickety for Students

: 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