What does rickety mean?
Word: Rickety
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Rickety means old or badly made, and likely to give way at any moment.
Synonyms: unsteady
Antonyms: robust
How do you spell rickety?
Syllables: rick - et - y
Tricky part: The middle vowel is weak and sounds like the i in pit, so pupils guess the wrong letter there.
Watch out for: rickity, rikkety, ricketey
Memory tip: Hear an old cart on a bumpy lane going et, et, et. That et sits in the middle of the word.
Rickety in a sentence
Example 1: That rickety old fan shakes every time someone turns it on.
Example 2: Grandmother refuses to throw out her rickety kitchen stool.
Example 3: The boatman tied up beside a rickety jetty on the backwaters.
Fun Fact
Rickety is not kept for furniture. Sports writers happily call a weak back line a rickety defence.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. rickety 2. abreviate 3. fasinate 4. inadvertant
a) unsafe because it has been poorly put together
b) to interest someone very strongly
c) to make a word or phrase shorter
d) done without meaning to
Show answer
a) unsafe because it has been poorly put together. Abbreviate needs a second b, fascinate needs a c after the s, and inadvertent ends in ent.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
ricketty
a) e
b) t
c) k
d) c
Show answer
b) t. The sound before the y is made by one t alone.
Mingle-Mangle
Rearrange the jumbled letters in the sentence to form a word:
The family crossed the stream on a ktiyrec wooden bridge that swayed at every step.
a) rocky
b) creaky
c) rickety
d) tricky
Show answer
c) rickety. Seven letters are jumbled here, and the set has an e as well as a t, so one choice alone uses them all.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word rickety as used in the sentence:
We climbed the rickety ladder to the loft to fetch Grandfather's old suitcase.
a) crowded
b) wobbly
c) painted
d) polished
Show answer
b) wobbly. A ladder like this moves under your feet, and only one choice describes that.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A guide says the steps to the old fort are rickety. What should visitors do?
a) wear bright clothes for the photographs
b) bring a torch for the dark corners
c) hold the rail and go up one at a time
d) buy their tickets a day in advance
Show answer
c) hold the rail and go up one at a time
2. What would most likely make a carpenter call a chair rickety?
a) its seat has been painted a bright yellow
b) its joints have worked loose over the years
c) its legs are carved from expensive teak
d) its back is taller than most other chairs
Show answer
b) its joints have worked loose over the years
