What does "rig" mean?
Rig: To furnish with apparatus or gear; to fit with tackling.
Additional senses
- 2.To dress; to equip; to clothe, especially in an odd or fanciful manner; -- commonly followed by out. Jack was rigged out in his gold and silver lace. L'Estrange. To rig a purchase, to adapt apparatus so as to get a purchase for moving a weight, as with a lever, tackle, capstan, etc. -- To rig a ship (Naut.), to fit the shrouds, stays, braces, etc., to their respective masts and yards.
- 3.(Naut.) The peculiar fitting in shape, number, and arrangement of sails and masts, by which different types of vessels are distinguished; as, schooner rig, ship rig, etc. See Illustration in Appendix.
- 4.Dress; esp., odd or fanciful clothing. [Colloq.]
- 5.A romp; a wanton; one given to unbecoming conduct. [Obs.] Fuller.
- 6.A sportive or unbecoming trick; a frolic.
- 7.A blast of wind. [Prov. Eng.] Wright. That uncertain season before the rigs of Michaelmas were yet well composed. Burke. To run a rig, to play a trick; to engage in a frolic; to do something strange and unbecoming. He little dreamt when he set out Of running such a rig. Cowper.
- 8.To play the wanton; to act in an unbecoming manner; to play tricks. "Rigging and rifling all ways." Chapman.
- 9.To make free with; hence, to steal; to pilfer. [Obs. or Prov.] Tusser. To rig the market (Stock Exchange), to raise or lower market prices, as by some fraud or trick. [Cant]
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00