rigged

adjective

ˈrigd 

1

: manipulated or controlled by deceptive or dishonest means

a rigged contest

Attempts to pass a rigged repatriation bill are exhibit A of what enrages Americans about Washington and Wall Street.

—Brent Budowsky

His reluctance stemmed not from a lack of mercy but from his sense that pardons were a rigged game, tilted in favor of offenders with political connections.

—Massimo Calabresi et al.

2

: fitted out with rigging of a specified kind

The Cornish lugger was a small, two-masted, fore-and-aft rigged boat.

—Mark Kurlansky

When she enters service in the fall of 1999, only the second five-masted full rigged ship ever built, she will bear the moniker of "the largest true sailing ship afloat today."

—Kevin Haydon

Examples of rigged in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

He was also separately accused of participating in an elaborate poker cheating scheme in which wealthy victims were allegedly lured to play in rigged games against athletes. —Cara Tabachnick, CBS News, 16 Apr. 2026

Leitch described the robbers as modern-day Robin Hood figures fighting back against a rigged system, whose criminal activities are combatted by an FBI agent played by John C. Reilly and hacker played by Zoë Kravitz. —Matt Grobar, Deadline, 15 Apr. 2026

This is vintage Trumpism: Taking on the Washington bureaucracy and a rigged legal system on behalf of everyday American 401(k) savers. —MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026

To prove vaccines’ safety, FDA extended clinical trials by several weeks so that FDA approval came after election day – permanently entangling the FDA in the MAGA epic of a rigged election. —David Blumenthal, Fortune, 24 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1500, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing rigged

• jerry-rigged
• square-rigged

Rhymes for rigged

• reneged
• digged