rustier; rustiest
1
: affected by or as if by rust
especially
: stiff with or as if with rust
2
: inept and slow through lack of practice or old age
3
a
: of the color rust
b
: dulled in color or appearance by age and use
rusty old boots
4
: outmoded
Examples of rusty in a Sentence
Adjective (1)
rusty laws still on the books because no one bothered to repeal them
in a rusty voice the old man ordered us off his land
Recent Examples on the Web
Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2025
On a shelf next to me, between the smoke grenades and coffee creamer, sat a 20-pound bag of rusty bolts waiting to be packed around the next day’s warheads.
—Ken Harbaugh, The Atlantic, 15 Sep. 2025
Photos show the rusty century-old artifacts divers successfully recovered.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2025
Elegba is, too, and as the play begins, Mays enters the near-empty space, arranged in the round by scenic designer Suzu Sakai, and walks in a wide circle, trailing a ring of white powder poured from a rusty old oil funnel behind him.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rusty
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Adjective
So far, brown bears are loving the carp, sea lions are tentatively enjoying the goldfish, and North American river otters have sampled goldfish and rusty crayfish.
—Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2025
On a shelf next to me, between the smoke grenades and coffee creamer, sat a 20-pound bag of rusty bolts waiting to be packed around the next day’s warheads.
—Ken Harbaugh, The Atlantic, 15 Sep. 2025
Photos show the rusty century-old artifacts divers successfully recovered.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2025
Elegba is, too, and as the play begins, Mays enters the near-empty space, arranged in the round by scenic designer Suzu Sakai, and walks in a wide circle, trailing a ring of white powder poured from a rusty old oil funnel behind him.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rusty
Cite this Entry
“Rusty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rusty. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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