adjective, rick·et·i·er, rick·et·i·est.
- likely to fall or collapse; shaky: a rickety chair.
- feeble in the joints; tottering; infirm: a rickety old man.
- old, dilapidated, or in disrepair.
- irregular, as motion or action.
- affected with or suffering from rickets.
- pertaining to or of the nature of rickets.
adjective
- (of a structure, piece of furniture, etc) likely to collapse or break; shaky
- feeble with age or illness; infirm
- relating to, resembling, or afflicted with rickets
“liable to fall down,” 1680s, from rickets (with + -y (2)), via notion of “weak, unhealthy.” Literal sense is from c.1720 but never common in English. Of material things, from 1799.