Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A flat narrow braid woven in zigzag form, used as a trimming for clothing or curtains.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A kind of openwork trimming made by hand, with needle and thread, out of a narrow zigzag braid.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A kind of openwork edging made of serpentine braid.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A zigzag trim sewn to clothes for decoration.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a narrow zigzag ribbon used as trimming

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Reduplication of rack.]

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Examples

  • And I remember specifically asking about, "What are the conditions of levees," and hearing at some point early in the afternoon, an initial report that said there may be some overtopping, there may be some loss of the I guess they call it "rickrack" (ph) or something on top of the levees -- but no substantial levee breach.

    CNN Transcript Feb 15, 2006 2006

  • Sweaty, hermetically sealed Caspers would slouch in the school Halloween parade alongside the elaborate angels or gypsies or cowboys with rickrack stitching.

    The real Halloween costume contest: Homemade vs. store-bought Petula Dvorak 2010

  • Sweaty, hermetically sealed Caspers would slouch in the school Halloween parade alongside the elaborate angels or gypsies or cowboys with rickrack stitching.

    The real Halloween costume contest: Homemade vs. store-bought Petula Dvorak 2010

  • I also glued on rickrack or ribbon, and on others I used stickers.

    Hints From Heloise washingtonpost.com 2010

  • I am trimming them with lace or rickrack or just a plain hem.

    Home Living 2009

  • You're like a bumper sticker, he says, your brain's full of rickrack, like the crap on that fixture over there.

    Sheer Cooper Renner 2011

  • Sweaty, hermetically sealed Caspers would slouch in the school Halloween parade alongside the elaborate angels or gypsies or cowboys with rickrack stitching.

    The real Halloween costume contest: Homemade vs. store-bought Petula Dvorak 2010

  • Amy: If you come over to take a shower, I will make sure that you get the aqua washcloth with the yellow rickrack around the edges.

    Dear Clusterflock | clusterflock 2009

  • She would have her apron tied around her with the blue rickrack trim and her flowery, button-front dress, her hair in loose curls peppered with grey that hugged her head and that we loved to touch.

    Chicken Soup for the Soul: Think Positive Jack Canfield 2010

  • She would have her apron tied around her with the blue rickrack trim and her flowery, button-front dress, her hair in loose curls peppered with grey that hugged her head and that we loved to touch.

    Chicken Soup for the Soul: Think Positive Jack Canfield 2010

Comments

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  • "After morning tea the walking gets very hard indeed. The path up the pass is formed by 11 basic zigzag lines. But some of these have been smashed by avalanches, and replaced by a series of even rougher and steeper paths: not zigzags but rickrack. Zigzag 2, for instance, has been wiped out and reworked into four new rickracks: a, b, c and d."

    - 'Back To The Track' in GW, Amanda Hooton, 23 Feb 2008.

    February 26, 2008

  • All day she’s been sewing on rickrack;

    The seamstress is ready to kick back.

    She stumbles a zigzag

    While clutching a big bag

    And heads to her room with a six pack.

    May 13, 2014