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.

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.

oil rig

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Date of publication: October 26, 2016