tilt

¹ American  

[tilt] / tɪlt /

verb (used with object)

1. to cause to lean, incline, slope, or slant.

2. to rush at or charge, as in a joust.

3. to hold poised for attack, as a lance.

4. to move (a camera) up or down on its vertical axis for photographing or televising a moving character, object, or the like.

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verb (used without object)

1. to move into or assume a sloping position or direction.

2. to strike, thrust, or charge with a lance or the like (usually followed byat ).

3. to engage in a joust, tournament, or similar contest.

4. (of a camera) to move on its vertical axis.

   The camera tilts downward for an overhead shot.

5. to incline in opinion, feeling, etc.; lean.

   She's tilting toward the other candidate this year.

noun

1. an act or instance of tilting.

2. the state of being tilted; a sloping position.

3. a slope.

4. a joust or any other contest.

5. a dispute; controversy.

6. a thrust of a weapon, as at a tilt or joust.

7. (in aerial photography) the angle formed by the direction of aim of a camera and a perpendicular to the surface of the earth.

idioms

1. tilt at windmills, to contend against imaginary opponents or injustices. Also fight with windmills.

2. (at) full tilt. full tilt.

tilt ² American  

[tilt] / tɪlt /

noun

1. a cover of coarse cloth, canvas, etc., as for a wagon.

2. an awning.

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verb (used with object)

1. to furnish with a tilt.

tilt ¹ British  

/ tɪlt /

verb

1. to incline or cause to incline at an angle

2. (usually intr) to attack or overthrow (a person or people) in a tilt or joust

3. to aim or thrust

   to tilt a lance

4. (tr) to work or forge with a tilt hammer

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noun

1. a slope or angle

   at a tilt

2. the act of tilting

3. 1. a jousting contest

   2. a thrust with a lance or pole delivered during a tournament

4. an attempt to win a contest

5. See tilt hammer

6. at full speed or force

tilt ² British  

/ tɪlt /

noun

1. an awning or canopy, usually of canvas, for a boat, booth, etc

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verb

1. (tr) to cover or provide with a tilt

Other Word Forms

• tiltable adjective
• tilter noun

Etymology

Origin of tilt¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English tilte(n), tilt(e), tult “to fall down, upset, tumble,” akin to Old English tealt “unsteady,” tealtian “to stumble”; compare dialectal Norwegian tylta “to tiptoe,” tylten “unsteady,” Swedish tulta “to totter”

Origin of tilt²

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English teld(e), telt(e), tild(e) “dwelling (temporary or permanent), fort, tent,” Old English teld “tent, pavilion”; cognate with German Zelt “tent,” Old Norse tjald “tent, tapestry, curtain”

Example Sentences

A title tilt is not expected though not ruled out.

From BBC

The RBA said risks to inflation have tilted to the upside, though it needs more time to assess the persistence of price pressures.

From The Wall Street Journal

On the eve of the Civil War, the Columbian Register lamented the growing likelihood of “the stars of our political firmament” being “torn from their orbits, and plunging madly about, or tilting one the other.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Boric’s progressive tilt paradoxically illustrated the firmness of Chile’s mining commitment.

From Barron's

A large wallet can tilt your pelvis and compress your sciatic nerve.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• bend
• dip
• incline
• lurch
• shift
• sway
• tip