rickets
noun
rick·ets ˈri-kəts 
plural in form but singular in construction
: a deficiency disease that affects the young during the period of skeletal growth, is characterized especially by soft and deformed bones, and is caused by failure to assimilate and use calcium and phosphorus normally due to inadequate sunlight or vitamin D
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web In fact, children with low levels of vitamin D are at higher risk of developing a condition called rickets, which leads to bone weakness and other skeletal deformities. 
Valerie Agyeman, Good Housekeeping, 1 Sep. 2022 Peggy’s father, physician Alfred Hess, researched the nutritional value of fresh food and is credited in a Nobel Prize for his contributions to work to prevent scurvy and rickets. oregonlive, 19 May 2022 One person's leg bones bowed, a symptom of rickets. CBS News, 11 Apr. 2022 In addition, the product did not have vitamin D, and a vitamin D deficiency can potentially lead to rickets, a softening and weakening of bones. Chris Smith, BGR, 26 Jan. 2022 Physicians and historians of medicine have long bickered over a differential diagnosis of Tiny Tim’s unspecified illness, with guesses ranging from cerebral palsy to rickets to renal tubal acidosis. Natalie Shure, The New Republic, 20 Dec. 2021 This was rickets, a deficiency of one or more of the basic vitamins or minerals that make bones strong — usually vitamin D and calcium, or less frequently, phosphate. New York Times, 2 Dec. 2021 Historically, a lack of vitamin D in the diet was, and in some places in the world remains, the most common cause of rickets. New York Times, 2 Dec. 2021 But rickets affects infants and very young children—far younger than those enrolled in Vit-D-Kids. Charles Piller, Science | AAAS, 12 Aug. 2021 See More
Valerie Agyeman, Good Housekeeping, 1 Sep. 2022 Peggy’s father, physician Alfred Hess, researched the nutritional value of fresh food and is credited in a Nobel Prize for his contributions to work to prevent scurvy and rickets. oregonlive, 19 May 2022 One person's leg bones bowed, a symptom of rickets. CBS News, 11 Apr. 2022 In addition, the product did not have vitamin D, and a vitamin D deficiency can potentially lead to rickets, a softening and weakening of bones. Chris Smith, BGR, 26 Jan. 2022 Physicians and historians of medicine have long bickered over a differential diagnosis of Tiny Tim’s unspecified illness, with guesses ranging from cerebral palsy to rickets to renal tubal acidosis. Natalie Shure, The New Republic, 20 Dec. 2021 This was rickets, a deficiency of one or more of the basic vitamins or minerals that make bones strong — usually vitamin D and calcium, or less frequently, phosphate. New York Times, 2 Dec. 2021 Historically, a lack of vitamin D in the diet was, and in some places in the world remains, the most common cause of rickets. New York Times, 2 Dec. 2021 But rickets affects infants and very young children—far younger than those enrolled in Vit-D-Kids. Charles Piller, Science | AAAS, 12 Aug. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
origin unknown
First Known Use
1634, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
rickets
noun
rick·ets ˈri-kəts
: a disease especially of children in which the bones are soft and deformed and which is caused by lack of vitamin D
Medical Definition
rickets
noun, plural in form but singular in construction
rick·ets ˈrik-əts
: a deficiency disease that affects the young during the period of skeletal growth, is characterized especially by soft and deformed bones, and is caused by failure to assimilate and use calcium and phosphorus normally due to inadequate sunlight or vitamin D
called also rachitis
see osteomalacia