What does wicket mean?
Wicket is a versatile noun best known from cricket, where it refers to the three stumps and two bails that form the target at each end of the pitch. Bowlers aim to hit the stumps or dislodge the bails, and a successful dismissal is described as taking a wicket. The word can also denote a batsman at the crease or, in score records, the dismissed player. Outside sport, a wicket is a small gate or door, particularly one at the entrance to a house, garden, or enclosed property. Cricket’s wicket developed from the idea of a “wicket-gate,” a gate-like frame at the end of the pitch, before the name was applied to the stumps and bails themselves. The word is useful because it carries both sporting precision and a slightly old-fashioned architectural sense, while remaining familiar in international sporting language.
nounA wicket is the set of three wooden stumps and two bails at either end of a cricket pitch. By extension, it can mean a batsman at the crease or a dismissed batsman; outside cricket, it can mean a small gate or door, especially at the entrance to a property.
- In cricket, the set of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch.
- In cricket, a batsman at the crease, especially one who has been dismissed.
- A small gate or door, especially one forming part of a larger entrance or fence.
"The ball struck the off stump, sending the wicket tumbling as the batter looked on in disbelief."
"The bowler broke the wicket with a delivery that bounced sharply outside off."
"A small wicket gate beside the garden path led into a sheltered courtyard."
The standard plural is wickets. In cricket, it can refer to multiple sets of stumps and bails, multiple dismissals, or multiple batters.
"The fast bowler took three wickets before the end of the over."
In cricket, a wicket is a tiny target with a huge effect: knock it over and the batter is gone.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does wicket come from?
The word entered Middle English from Old French wicket, which had a Germanic source. Its cricket sense developed from “wicket-gate,” referring to the small gate or frame at the end of a cricket pitch, and was subsequently applied to the set of stumps and bails.
How wicket is actually used
In cricket, wicket is standard terminology used in British, American, and international English. The sense meaning a small gate is especially associated with British English and may sound old-fashioned elsewhere.
Easily confused with wicket
A wicket is a set of cricket stumps and bails or a small gate, whereas a picket is a stake or post used to form a barrier or guard.