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
The bookstore consists of four rickety shelves holding mass-market paperbacks. — Brandon Shimoda, Harper's magazine, "The Fruits of Suffering," 19 Aug. 2019 Jaclyn Backhaus based her meticulously researched play on the travel journals of John Wesley Powell, whose 1869 expedition to survey the Grand Canyon in four rickety wooden boats was perhaps the last great adventure into the uncharted West. — Matt Cooper, latimes.com, "SoCal theater, July 14-21: Musical parodies of ‘Friends’ and ‘Lost’ and more," 12 July 2019 That’s a price worth paying to avoid an even more rickety financial system. — Nathaniel Taplin, WSJ, "Deflation Stalks Chinese Industry Again," 10 July 2019 Lower interest rates are making Europe’s rickety banks even more fragile. — The Economist, "Dangerous miscalculations," 8 Aug. 2019 Others are rickety shacks melting back into the earth. — Leah Sottile, Longreads, "Chapter Five: The Remnant," 20 July 2019 The river architecture—often all that stands between a town and tons of rushing water—is part highly engineered technology, part rickety old machine. — Boyce Upholt, Time, "The Mississippi River Is Under Control—For Now," 9 May 2019 Jaclyn Backhaus based her meticulously researched play on the travel journals of John Wesley Powell, whose 1869 expedition to survey the Grand Canyon in four rickety wooden boats was perhaps the last great adventure into the uncharted West. — Los Angeles Times, "SoCal theater, July 28-Aug. 4: ‘Ragtime,’ ‘Pericles’ and more," 26 July 2019 His second jump shot was blocked, and his mechanics looked downright rickety. — Scott Cacciola, New York Times, "Zion Williamson Lives Up to the Hype, at Least for One Night," 6 July 2019These 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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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
rickety
adjective
rick·ety
| \ ˈrik-ət-ē
\
\
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