tightrope
to walk, move, or proceed on or as on a tightrope: He tightroped through enemy territory.
to make (one's way, course, etc.) on or as on a tightrope.
Origin of tightrope
1Words Nearby tightrope
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use tightrope in a sentence
When you add to that that it’s someone of the stature of Rudy Giuliani that you have to get on his own, in the middle of a pandemic, and make sure he doesn’t suspect anything, it’s just an absolute tightrope.
Sacha Baron Cohen’s Partner in Crime Seizes the Spotlight | Marlow Stern | July 30, 2021 | The Daily BeastMore recently, the companies have walked a tightrope, acknowledging that climate change is real while still insisting that they need to service a robust market for their products that will exist for decades.
‘Change is Coming.’ Activists Just Scored Big Wins Against ExxonMobil, Chevron and Shell | Justin Worland | May 27, 2021 | TimeWith that in mind, check out these tightrope walkers high above the demonstrations in Medellin and Bogota’s Philharmonic Orchestra striking up Fanfare for the Common Man to appeal for calm.
Directing Bollywood drama The Last Color, now on Amazon Prime, Khanna delivers a story about the unique friendship between a 9-year-old tightrope walker and a widow, confronting taboos around caste, widowhood and gender roles.
It’s a tightrope of not feeling but staying busy but not being vulnerable, which complicates things with my partner because connecting with my partner requires vulnerability and emotion.
The heir to a tightrope walking family has tried some crazy stunts in his day.
Nik Wallenda’s Blindfolded Tightrope Caper: Defying Death Over The Chicago River | Jacqui Goddard | November 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe self-styled ‘Art Criminal’ dazzled onlookers and made history when he tightrope walked between the WTC towers 40 years ago.
Philippe Petit’s Moment of Concern Walking the WTC Tightrope | Anthony Haden-Guest | August 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAll weekend reporters in eastern Ukraine were walking a bizarre tightrope, of prurience, politesse, and ghoulishness.
The clan had a tightrope act that went horribly wrong in 1962.
Thrills and Too Many Spills: The Dangers of the Circus | Marina Watts | May 5, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTTo this day, the family still enthusiastically explores tightrope walking.
Thrills and Too Many Spills: The Dangers of the Circus | Marina Watts | May 5, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThere were washed out trails where the ride would be in the nature of tightrope walking.
The Code of the Mountains | Charles Neville BuckOne thing that we must suppose he particularly liked was a wonderful tightrope walker.
The Silent Readers | William D. LewisDouglas Fairbanks is doing a little tightrope walking on the telegraph wires.
The Smiling Hill-Top | Julia M. SloaneThe famous Blondin was going to perform on a tightrope in another part of the garden.
The Innocents Abroad | Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)When a performer falls from the tightrope, who remembers all the times he has not failed?
Jacqueline, Complete | (Mme. Blanc) Th. Bentzon
British Dictionary definitions for tightrope
/ (ˈtaɪtˌrəʊp) /
a rope or cable stretched taut above the ground on which acrobats walk or perform balancing feats
to be in a difficult situation that demands careful and considered behaviour
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with tightrope
see walk a tightrope.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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