rusty
part of speech
adjective (rusty, rustier, rustiest)
meaning for a pupil
1) Covered in rust, the reddish-brown flaky coating that forms on iron and steel when they get wet and meet the air. tree →
2) Not as good at something as you used to be, because you have not done it for a long time: my French is rusty. tree →
3) Reddish-brown in colour, like rust. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science, rusting is a chemical reaction: iron + water + oxygen make rust (iron oxide). Paint, oil, plastic coatings and galvanising stop rusting. In safety, rusty nails and sharp rusty metal can cut you and let germs in (like tetanus), so tell an adult if you are cut by rusty metal. In everyday life, being "rusty" at something means you need practice. Phrases: "a rusty nail", "rusty old bike", "a bit rusty", "rusty red".
examples
- The old gate was rusty and squeaky. tree →
- Don't touch that rusty nail; it could cut you. tree →
- Leaving the bike out in the rain made the chain rusty. tree →
- My piano playing is a bit rusty after the holidays. tree →
- The fox had rusty red fur. tree →
- We tested which nails got rusty fastest: in water, salt water or air. tree →
- The rusty can was hard to open. tree →
- Paint stops metal from going rusty. tree →
- The door was fastened, but she pressed against the rusty latch, and it gave way. tree →
note
Spelling: rusty, rustier, rustiest (y → i). Only iron and steel rust; other metals like aluminium, copper or gold do not go rusty (copper turns green instead). Salt water makes rusting faster.
In the corpora
- The old gaoler's rusty key creaks, the door clangs — and Toad is a helpless prisoner.
- For his money Toad gets «a cotton print gown, an apron, a shawl, and a rusty black bonnet».
- A week later only one is properly rusty, and a detective knows which before looking.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «rusty» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.