rigger

R1I1G2G2E1R1
UK/ˈɹɪɡə(ɹ)/US/ˈɹɪɡɚ/

noun

One whose occupation is to fit the rigging of a ship or of a counterweight system.

Similar
rigger brushoil rigger
UncommonScrabble 8

Meanings

rigger1

nounrigger (plural riggers)

plural riggers

  1. One who rigs or dresses; as:
    1. One whose occupation is to fit the rigging of a ship or of a counterweight system.

      So far there was not a hitch. The workpeople, to be sure — riggers and what not — were most annoyingly slow; but time cured that. It was the crew that troubled me.

      1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC
    2. One whose occupation is to lift and move large and heavy objects (such as industrial machinery) with the help of cables, hoists, and other equipment.

      What if the rigger (the person who anchors the grids to the building ceiling) mishangs a single cable?

      1998, Glen Ballou, Handbook for Sound Engineers: The New Audio Cyclopedia, page 1250
    3. animationOne whose occupation is to outfit a computer model with controls for animation.

      It is common that after the rig is created an animator asks the rigger to create new controls, because the character needs to support new poses or simply needs to look better.

      2012, Verónica Orvalho, Pedro Bastos, Frederic Parke, Bruno Oliveira, Xenxo Alvarez, “A Facial Rigging Survey: State of the Art Report”, in EUROGRAPHICS
  2. A worker on an oil rig.
  3. One who rigs or manipulates (an election, etc).

    An election rigger who assumes illegitimate political power would be primarily motivated to spread their corrosive toxins across the political system, thus rendering institutions of government dysfunctional and convoluted.

    2018, Cliff Edogun, The Rude Awakening: Nigerian Millennials Take Their Country by Storm., AuthorHouse, →ISBN
    1 more example

    The real riggers of electoral boundaries in New South Wales were those who got loose after 1965. When the boys from George Street and Ash Street got loose there was a majority in the Parliament. That is when there was a redistribution […]

    1988, Australian Parliament, House of Representatives, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), House of Representatives
  4. A part of a rowing boat's equipment used to provide leverage for a rowing blade or oar around a fixed fulcrum.
  5. in compoundsA ship with a certain type of rigging.
  6. A cylindrical pulley or drum in machinery.
  7. New ZealandA plastic bottle of beer, typically between 1 L to 2.5 L volume.
  8. A long, slender, pointed sable paintbrush for making fine lines, etc.; said to be so called from its use for drawing the lines of the rigging of ships.
  9. BDSMA person who applies functional or artistic rope bondage to another person's body.

rigger2

nounrigger (plural riggers)

plural riggers

  1. abbreviationellipsisEllipsis of outrigger.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna long slender pointed sable brush used by artists

Similar
rigger brush
Broader
sablesable brushsable's hair pencil

nounsomeone who works on an oil rig

Similar
oil rigger
Broader
oil worker

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

rigger · noun

Abbreviation

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Danish rigger
  • riggerone who rigs or dresses
German Manipulierer, Wahlfälscher
  • Manipuliererone who rigs or manipulates (an election, etc)
  • Wahlfälscherone who rigs or manipulates (an election, etc)
  • Kurstreiberone who rigs or manipulates (an election, etc)
  • Auslegera part of a rowing boat's equipment
  • Schleppera long, slender, pointed sable paintbrush for making fine lines, etc.
  • Schwertschleppera long, slender, pointed sable paintbrush for making fine lines, etc.
  • Linierpinsela long, slender, pointed sable paintbrush for making fine lines, etc.
  • Taklerone who rigs or dresses
  • Monteurone who rigs or dresses
Indonesian juru ikat
  • juru ikatone who rigs or dresses
Russian такела́жник
  • такела́жник (takelážnik)one who rigs or dresses
Swedish riggare
  • riggareone who rigs or dresses

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with rigger

All rhymes →

Sounds the same

Cite this entry
APA

rigger. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rigger

MLA

“rigger.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rigger. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rigger,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rigger.

Source: rigger on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.