Meaning & use

Rickety

adjective·Everyday

Last updated

Likely to collapse or break because of poor construction, weakness, or old age; shaky or unstable.

See it in a sentence

They climbed the rickety staircase carefully, worried it might give way.

The rickety old bridge swayed with every gust of wind.

A note on using this word

Originally related to the disease rickets, which causes weak bones, before extending to mean anything structurally weak.

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