rigging

Everyday

1. All the ropes, wires and chains that hold up a ship's masts and work the sails. tree →
2. Cheating to fix the result of something in advance, as in «vote rigging» or «match rigging». tree →
3. Putting up equipment, like rigging lights for a show. tree →

In the lessons

In sea stories and history, sailors climb the rigging to set the sails; the Sea Rat in The Wind in the Willows tells of ships and voyages. In citizenship lessons, rigging an election is cheating and is against the law.

Examples

• The sailors climbed the rigging to the top of the mast. tree →
• The wind howled through the rigging. tree →
• (law) Vote rigging means cheating in an election. tree →
• They accused the referee of rigging the match. tree →
• The crew were rigging the lights for the school play. tree →
• Old ships had miles of rigging. tree →
• The wind cut through the rigging, and the boat cut through the sea. tree →

Note

From «rig». Uncountable for the ropes. The second sense is always bad: rigging = cheating.