rigging
Preserved but no longer current.
A process well known in connexion with sales by auction, by which articles are secured at prices considerably below their real value. See KNOCK-OUTS. To RIG the market is to do similar business on a larger scale for the purpose of affecting the supplies, and thereby increasing the profits on an original purchase of the goods thus made scarce.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “rigging” mean?
A process well known in connexion with sales by auction, by which articles are secured at prices considerably below their real value. See KNOCK-OUTS. To RIG the market is to do similar business on a larger scale for the purpose of affecting the supplies, and thereby increasing the profits on an original purchase of the goods thus made scarce.
Is “rigging” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.