tightrope

American  

[tahyt-rohp] / ˈtaɪtˌroʊp /

noun

tightropes plural

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

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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 British  

/ 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

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tightrope Idioms  

1. see walk a tightrope.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• tightropes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of tightrope

First recorded in 1795–1805; tight + rope

Explanation

A tightrope is a thin, tightly stretched wire or rope meant to be walked on. If you go to the circus, you may see acrobats doing tricks on tightropes high above the ground. Some tightrope walkers hold long sticks that help them balance, and others do somersaults, juggle, or dance, all while balancing on the tightrope. Another kind of acrobatics is slackrope walking, performed on loose or slack wires or ropes. The technical term for the art of walking on a tightrope or slackrope is funambulism — and a person who does it is a funambulist.

Example Sentences

Software companies are walking a tightrope in 2026 amid fears that artificial-intelligence tools will disrupt their businesses.

From Barron's • May 29, 2026

I love watching comedians navigate that impossible little tightrope between structure and chaos: character work, timing, escalation, commitment and, ideally, a killer ending.

From Salon • May 25, 2026

In a subsequent post, the brand acknowledged the tightrope walk that is advertising on the tailwinds of reality TV drama: “A lot can change in a day.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026

The stress and emotional aftermath they’re each facing is a tightrope walk … with an incline.

From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026

I’m walking a tightrope, careful with my words, hoping my friends and classmates and teachers and coworkers won’t discover my secret, because if they do, I will fall and crash.

From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau