Dictionary.com

stilt

[ stilt ]
/ stɪlt /
Save This Word!
See synonyms for: stilt / stilted / stilting / stilts on Thesaurus.com

noun
one of two poles, each with a support for the foot at some distance above the bottom end, enabling the wearer to walk with their feet above the ground.
one of several posts supporting a structure built above the surface of land or water.
Ceramics. a three-armed support for an object being fired.
any of several wading birds with very long pink legs and a long, slender bill, including the black-and-white Cladorhynchus leucocephalus and Himantopus himantopus.
British Dialect.
  1. a plow handle.
  2. a crutch.
verb (used with object)
to raise on or as if on stilts.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

Origin of stilt

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English stilte; cognate with Low German stilte “pole,” German Stelze

OTHER WORDS FROM stilt

stiltlike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use stilt in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for stilt

stilt
/ (stɪlt) /

noun
either of a pair of two long poles with footrests on which a person stands and walks, as used by circus clowns
a long post or column that is used with others to support a building above ground level
any of several shore birds of the genera Himantopus and Cladorhynchus, similar to the avocets but having a straight bill
verb
(tr) to raise or place on or as if on stilts

Word Origin for stilt

C14 (in the sense: crutch, handle of a plough): related to Low German stilte pole, Norwegian stilta
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
FEEDBACK