tightrope

[tahyt-rohp]

noun

1. a rope or wire cable, stretched tight, on which acrobats perform feats of balancing.

verb (used without object)

tightroped, tightroping 

1. to walk, move, or proceed on or as on a tightrope.

   He tightroped through enemy territory.

verb (used with object)

tightroped, tightroping 

1. to make (one's way, course, etc.) on or as on a tightrope.

tightrope

/ ˈtaɪtˌrəʊp /

noun

1. a rope or cable stretched taut above the ground on which acrobats walk or perform balancing feats

2. to be in a difficult situation that demands careful and considered behaviour

Word History and Origins

Origin of tightrope¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; tight + rope

Idioms and Phrases

see walk a tightrope.

Example Sentences

Ofcom is trying to walk a tightrope between online safety and freedom of speech.

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There was a brief glimmer of hope leading into this week that Jordan, who underwent tightrope surgery on his ankle five weeks ago, might be able to return for USC’s trip to Eugene.

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“They were a net for each other as the other one was up on a tightrope,” Brewer says.

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Given ministers want to do this without demolishing constitutional safeguards such as the Human Rights Act, it is a tightrope.

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US and China have long competed for strategic influence in South Korea, leaving Seoul to walk a geopolitical tightrope.

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