rigged

adjective

ˈrigd 

1

: manipulated or controlled by deceptive or dishonest means

a rigged election

Attempts to pass a rigged repatriation bill are exhibit A of what enrages Americans about Washington and Wall Street.

—Brent Budowsky

His reluctance stemmed not from a lack of mercy but from his sense that pardons were a rigged game, tilted in favor of offenders with political connections.

—Massimo Calabresi et al.

2

: fitted out with rigging of a specified kind

The Cornish lugger was a small, two-masted, fore-and-aft rigged boat.

—Mark Kurlansky

When she enters service in the fall of 1999, only the second five-masted full rigged ship ever built, she will bear the moniker of "the largest true sailing ship afloat today."

—Kevin Haydon

Examples of rigged in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Decades of federal meddling in immigration, census counting, and voting procedures have turned what should be straightforward representation into a rigged game. —James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Aug. 2025

With rigged bidding, that competition is reduced or altogether lost, meaning the selector of the bid is denied the fruits of competition. —Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 9 July 2025

For small and midsized business owners, insurance often feels like a rigged game—one where exclusions multiply and claims seem engineered for denial. —Van Carlson, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025

This, and evidence from the rigged suitcase, eventually pointed investigators to two Libyan intelligence officers who worked cover jobs for the Libyan national airline. —Henry Leutwyler Robert Petkoff Emma Kehlbeck Quinton Kamara, New York Times, 20 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1500, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing rigged

• jerry-rigged
• square-rigged

Rhymes for rigged

• reneged
• digged