rickety

/ˈɹɪk.ɪ.ti/

//ˈɹɪk.ɪ.ti// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"rickety" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“rickety” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #42,867. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#42,867
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of an object: not strong or sturdy, as because of poor construction or upkeep; not safe or secure.

Corpus desk

Index EN-rickety · rickety · English

rickety · rank #42,867 · 11 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #42,867
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH Ribeiro

Nearest frequency peer: Ribeiro (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “rickety”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “rickety” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

rickety vs Ricky
57% similar
rickety vs rocket
71% similar
rickety vs Rickey
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for rickety
PropertyValue
Headwordrickety
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈɹɪk.ɪ.ti/
Letters7
Frequency rank#42,867
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “rickety” sits in English frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).ricketylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Ribeiro” (#42,866), “ricotta” (#42,868), “restaurateur” (#42,865). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around rickety (IPA /ˈɹɪk.ɪ.ti/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #42,867 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for rickety, with forms such as "irckety", "rcikety", and "ricckety". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "Ricky", "rocket", "Rickey", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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. The correct English form is rickety, spelled R-I-C-K-E-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of an object: not strong or sturdy, as because of poor construction or upkeep; not safe or secure.
  2. 2
    Feeble in the joints; tottering.
  3. 3
    Affected with or suffering from rickets; rachitic.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how rickety appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. He hesitated about climbing such a small, rickety ladder.
  2. 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.

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.

Synonyms

bocketybone-shakingcraichycrankycreakycreakingdroopingflimsyprecariousunsteadyricketyrottletrapshacklyshakyshooglytotteringtottersomeunsafeunstablewobblywonky

Antonyms

firmresilientrobustruggedsafesecuresolidstalwartstalworthstoutstrongsturdyunprecariousuntotteringwell-built

This word in other languages

enclenque(Español)branlant(Français)wackelig(Deutsch)precário(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • irckety
  • rcikety
  • ricckety
  • ricekty
  • ricketty
  • ricketyy
  • rickeyt
  • rickkety
  • ricktey
  • rikcety
  • rrickety

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of rickety - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

irckety2rcikety2ricckety1ricekty2ricketty1ricketyy1rickeyt2rickkety1
Edit distance from "rickety"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "rickety"?
"rickety" is spelled R-I-C-K-E-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɹɪk.ɪ.ti/.
What does "rickety" mean?
As an adjective, "rickety" means: Of an object: not strong or sturdy, as because of poor construction or upkeep; not safe or secure.
What words are commonly confused with "rickety"?
"rickety" is commonly confused with "Ricky", "rocket", "Rickey". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "rickety"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rickety" is /ˈɹɪk.ɪ.ti/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "rickety"?
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. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "rickety", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Ribeiro#42,866ricotta#42,868shorted#42,894polices#42,829

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

raincoat11 variantssnorkel11 variantssolenoid11 variantsPliocene11 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "rickety". Here's where to go from here.

  • "rickety" maps to 6 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "Ricky". View pair
  • 11 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #42,867 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "R" letter cohort. R–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list