stilt

American  

[stilt] / stɪlt /

noun

stilts plural

1. 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.

2. one of several posts supporting a structure built above the surface of land or water.

3. Ceramics. a three-armed support for an object being fired.

4. 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.

5. British Dialect.

   1. a plow handle.

   2. a crutch.

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verb (used with object)

1. to raise on or as if on stilts.

stilt British  

/ stɪlt /

noun

1. either of a pair of two long poles with footrests on which a person stands and walks, as used by circus clowns

2. a long post or column that is used with others to support a building above ground level

3. any of several shore birds of the genera Himantopus and Cladorhynchus, similar to the avocets but having a straight bill

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verb

1. (tr) to raise or place on or as if on stilts

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• stiltlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• stilts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of stilt

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

Explanation

Stilts are walking devices that make the person wearing them much taller than usual. When you use stilts, you stand on foot rests and walk along far above the ground. Stilts are special poles, either for walking tall or for supporting a structure that might otherwise be damaged by water. You can sometimes see people walking on stilts at a circus or parade, and you can see houses on stilts in some beachfront communities. Walking stilts are sometimes also used by workers, including the stilts worn by window washers and fruit farmers.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stilt stilts

The National Endowment for the Arts had a couple of stilt dancers from New Orleans.

From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2026

This year's carnival featured musical performances, bedazzled horses, huge dragons and dancing stilt walkers.

From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2026

“I went to them and said, ‘Hey, can we have one of those stilt walkers?’” says Slash, referring to the larger-than-life lurkers who haunt guests during the festivities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2025

"Conducting research on Must Farm is a bit like getting an estate agent's tour of a Bronze Age stilt house," said David Gibson, report co-author and Archaeological Manager at CAU.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 20, 2024

Mrs. Cripe didn’t ring up a stilt after the farm women left, so they may have come in just for the toothpicks.

From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck

Over half of it will be elevated -- a major concern for Alexandrians who fear the tree-lined track will be replaced by eyesore concrete stilts.

From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 2026

At the Blind Tiger, one of a number of bars on stilts along the waterfront, I ordered one and asked a group at the bar who made the town’s best.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 7, 2026

The Mother Ginger sequence, which usually finds young dancers emerging from the giant skirt of a dancer on stilts, is completely reimagined here.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2025

But Dr Lari argues building an entire village on stilts would be unfeasible and too expensive.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2025

They stood on stilts, with cars parked beneath them.

From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn

Related Words

• angular
• gangly
• gaunt
• lanky
• rangy
• sinewy
• skinny
• slender
• slim
• sparse
• svelte
• wiry