HandgripsThe soft sleeves where the hands hold on.
LegsFour tubes that slide to set the height.
Rubber tipsCaps on the leg ends that grip the floor.
Front wheelA wheel on each front leg, so the walker rolls.
GlideA smooth cap on a back leg that slides over the floor.
Four-wheeled walker 3
SeatA built-in seat for stopping to rest.
BasketCarries shopping or small things under the seat.
Hand brakeA lever under each handle that stops the wheels.
How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-01 and kept only where two of these use it. (1) Wikipedia, Walker (mobility), text only, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walker_(mobility) : a lightweight frame, front and back legs, wheels on the front legs, glides on the back legs; the rollator's wheels, seat, basket and hand brakes. (2) A home health equipment catalog, read as text at https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-7241734 : folding walkers with hand grips, legs, glide tips, front wheels and replacement tips; rollators with seat, basket and hand brakes. (3) Passages found by archive.org's full-text search in two physical therapy textbooks, https://archive.org/details/introductiontoph0000dree and https://archive.org/details/physicalrehabili0000osul_y5a6 : a walker consists of a frame and four adjustable legs; molded handgrips and rubber tips; fixed front wheels. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work
How it works
A walker is a light frame on four legs that a person holds while walking. The first drawing shows a standard walker and a wheeled one; the second shows a rollator, a walker on four wheels.
Read the full guide
The standard walker
The frame is bent tube: two sides joined across the front. The hands hold the handgrips on top. Four legs slide in the frame to set the height, and each ends in a rubber tip that grips the floor.
With wheels
A wheeled walker has a front wheel on each front leg, so it rolls. The back legs often end in glides, smooth caps that slide. A four-wheeled walker, often called a rollator, has a wheel on every leg. It adds a seat, a basket under the seat and a hand brake under each handle.
This page names the parts only; a clinician sets the height and shows how to use a walker.
The quiz accepts ferrule for rubber tip and ski for glide.
Questions and answers
What are the parts of a walker?
A frame of light tube, two handgrips, four legs that adjust for height and a rubber tip on each leg. A wheeled walker has front wheels and often glides on its back legs.
What are the rubber things on the bottom of a walker called?
Rubber tips. They cap the end of each leg and grip the floor. On a cane or crutch the same part is also called a ferrule.
What is a walker with four wheels and a seat called?
It is usually called a rollator. A plain walker has four legs, with no wheels or with wheels on the front two only; a rollator has a wheel on every leg, hand brakes, a seat and a basket.
What are walker glides?
Smooth caps that fit on the back legs of a wheeled walker in place of rubber tips, so the back legs slide along the floor while the front wheels roll.