Word of the Day: Rig
The word “rig” can be used to name a thing or describe an activity. Recently, this word has been used as an adjective and as a verb by U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump. In this case, to rig something is to create a situation that gives an unfair advantage to a person or a group.
| simple | past | past participle |
|---|---|---|
|
rig
|
rigged
|
rigged
|
The past participle can be used as an adjective:
- Trump says that the election is rigged.
- He says that the government is rigging the election.
- He believes that the media are part of a rigged system.
- Rigged elections are not uncommon in some countries. (not uncommon = something regularly happens)
- Experts on the U.S. election system say that claims of a rigged election are false.
There are other things that people commonly believe to be rigged.
- Some economists say that the stock market is rigged.
- Some politicians say the economic system is rigged because it favors the rich while it punishes the poor.
- Under a rigged economic system, the rich have figured out how not to pay taxes.
The word “rig” can be used when something is fixed for some purpose:
- The man’s car is rigged with lights and a very loud stereo.
- We rigged our boat so that it’s easier to use when fishing.
- Someone rigged the door so that it would open by sliding into a pocket in the wall.
The word “rig” is also a noun:
- Fishing rigs are used by professional fishermen to catch fish.
- A large truck might be referred to as a rig.
- A trucker drives a big rig.
- Machines and computers might be referred to as rigs.
- Construction sites may have one or more rigs for digging down into the earth.
- An oil rig drills deep down into the ground in order to extract oil.
Essential English Dictionary
Visit the Popular English Words Beginning with R page to see the list of all words starting with letter R. For seeing the HiCafe dictionary, visit the Popular English Words with Meaning page.
