1
a
: lines and chains used aboard a ship especially in working sail and supporting masts and spars
b
: a similar network (as in theater scenery) used for support and manipulation
2
: clothing
Examples of rigging in a Sentence
They checked the rigging before they set sail.
even at the Ivies they dress in the standard rigging of the college student: T-shirt and jeans
Recent Examples on the Web
In 2016, McClendon died in a single-car crash in Oklahoma City, one day after a federal grand jury indicted him for bid rigging.
—
Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 10 June 2025
Crew members were hanging onto the rigging of the Mexican Navy tall ship that crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge Saturday night, video footage shows.
—Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 19 May 2025
Cellphone videos of the crash show that around 8:20 p.m. Saturday evening, the Cuauhtémoc — with soft, yellow, decorative lights strung through its masts and rigging — was drifting backward toward the bridge with sailors standing on the deck and along the masts.
—Matt Hubbard, Baltimore Sun, 18 May 2025
One who did was Marc Elias, a attorney for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign and then, in 2020, someone who successfully challenged Trump’s claims of election rigging.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 5 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rigging
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Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 10 June 2025
Crew members were hanging onto the rigging of the Mexican Navy tall ship that crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge Saturday night, video footage shows.
—Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 19 May 2025
Cellphone videos of the crash show that around 8:20 p.m. Saturday evening, the Cuauhtémoc — with soft, yellow, decorative lights strung through its masts and rigging — was drifting backward toward the bridge with sailors standing on the deck and along the masts.
—Matt Hubbard, Baltimore Sun, 18 May 2025
One who did was Marc Elias, a attorney for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign and then, in 2020, someone who successfully challenged Trump’s claims of election rigging.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 5 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rigging
Cite this Entry
“Rigging.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rigging. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
rigging
noun
rig·ging
ˈrig-iŋ 
-ən
1
: the ropes and chains used aboard a ship especially in working sail and supporting masts and spars
2
: equipment for supporting and working something (as theater scenery)
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