Question 1 · Quick check
rickety
CEFRC2
/ˈɹɪk.ɪ.ti/
adjective
Türkçe translations
Translating…
In plain English
- 01
adjective
Weak, badly made, or likely to break or fall.
- 02
adjective
Extra detailAffected with or suffering from rickets; rachitic.
Examples
The newborn giraffe stumbled around on rickety legs.
Tom carefully climbed up the rickety staircase.
At a glance
Sits at C2 on the CEFR scale
- Senses
- 4
- Parts of speech
- 1
- Citations
- 1
- Synonyms
- 5
Also pronounced
- /ˈɹɪk.e.ti/
Deep Dive
adjective
Extra meaningsFeeble in the joints; tottering.
Of an object: not strong or sturdy, as because of poor construction or upkeep; not safe or secure.
More examples
In contextHe hesitated about climbing such a small, rickety ladder.
The rickety old man hardly managed to climb the stairs.
Related
Quick test
Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.
Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.
Nearby
Origin
adjective
From dialectal ricket (“unstable, rickety”) + -y, and/or ricket (“to move noisily and in a reckless way”) + -y. Alternatively, and perhaps less likely, from rickets + -y.