Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

rickety

/ˈɹɪk.ɪ.ti/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.68 in modern English

Syllables: rick-ety
IPA: /ˈɹɪk.ɪ.ti/

16

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of an object: not strong or sturdy, as because of poor construction or upkeep; not safe or secure.

adj

Feeble in the joints; tottering.

adj

Affected with or suffering from rickets; rachitic.

Example Sentences

"He hesitated about climbing such a small, rickety ladder."
"She now knew every article Mrs Dibble had to sell, and the large part of the stock that was unsaleable by reason of its damaged state. Customers turned away from rickety chairs, stands of drawers that refused to open, or had no handles, lop-sided wardrobes whose doors were out of plumb or whose mirrors were cracked."
"The rickety old man hardly managed to climb the stairs."

Etymology

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.

Word Breakdown

Suffix: ricket, rickets

Regional Pronunciation

British English: /ˈɹɪk.ɪ.ti/

Inflected Forms

ricketier (comparative) more rickety (comparative) ricketiest (superlative) most rickety (superlative) ricketty (alternative) rickedy (alternative)

Derived Forms

ricketily ricketiness

Synonyms

precarious rachitic shaky tottering unsafe unstable unsteady wobbly bockety bone-shaking craichy cranky

Antonyms

firm resilient robust rugged safe secure solid stalwart stalworth stout strong sturdy

Rhymes With

lickety pernickety finickity

Questions

How do you pronounce rickety?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɹɪk.ɪ.ti/.
What does rickety mean?: Of an object: not strong or sturdy, as because of poor construction or upkeep; not safe or secure.
Where does rickety come from?: 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.

How to pronounce rickety

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “rickety”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɹɪk.ɪ.ti/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “rickety”.
Repeat and practice — Say “rickety” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.