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
Griff's was a cozy space inside with a small, rickety wooden patio in the front and a larger one in the back.
—
Brianna Griff, Chron, 13 Jan. 2023
Instead of rickety outdoor patios with plastic partitions, diners mostly ate in dining rooms.
—Nick Kindelsperger, Chicago Tribune, 28 Dec. 2022
At least 185 men, women and children disembarked from a rickety wooden boat Monday at dusk on Ujong Pie beach at Muara Tiga, a coastal village in Aceh’s Pidie district, said local police chief Fauzi, who goes by a single name.
—Rahmat Mirza, BostonGlobe.com, 27 Dec. 2022
One very much hopes that those acres make it through today unscathed, but that seems unlikely, and the state hasn’t yet managed to fix its rickety property-insurance system, which will make recovery harder for many.
—Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2022
See All Example Sentences for rickety
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Brianna Griff, Chron, 13 Jan. 2023
Instead of rickety outdoor patios with plastic partitions, diners mostly ate in dining rooms.
—Nick Kindelsperger, Chicago Tribune, 28 Dec. 2022
At least 185 men, women and children disembarked from a rickety wooden boat Monday at dusk on Ujong Pie beach at Muara Tiga, a coastal village in Aceh’s Pidie district, said local police chief Fauzi, who goes by a single name.
—Rahmat Mirza, BostonGlobe.com, 27 Dec. 2022
One very much hopes that those acres make it through today unscathed, but that seems unlikely, and the state hasn’t yet managed to fix its rickety property-insurance system, which will make recovery harder for many.
—Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2022
See All Example Sentences for rickety
Cite this Entry
“Rickety.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rickety. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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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