adj
rusty
RUHS-tee
adj
1
Covered in rust or corroded.
"The rusty gate creaked loudly whenever anyone opened it."
2
Out of practice; having lost some skill through lack of use.
"His guitar skills were rusty after years without playing."
"I'm a bit rusty at public speaking — it's been a while."
3
A reddish-brown color, like rust.
"The fox had a rusty coat that blended with the autumn leaves."
How to Use Rusty
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishCorroded with rust, or — much more commonly in everyday speech — out of practice at something.
Memory tip
The "out of practice" sense is extremely common in casual speech: "my Spanish is rusty" just means you used to be good at it but haven't used it in a while.
Trace the full origin ↓
Common pairings
a bit rusty
rusty skills
rusty hinge
Word Forms
rustier comparative, more rusty comparative, rustiest superlative, most rusty superlative
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The _____ gate creaked loudly whenever anyone opened it.
Etymology
From Old English rustig, "rusty," built from rust plus the adjective-forming suffix -y.