tilde
Americannoun
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Phonetics, Orthography. a diacritic (~) placed over an n, as in Spanish mañana, to indicate a palatal nasal sound or over a vowel, as in Portuguese são, to indicate nasalization.
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Mathematics. a symbol (∼) indicating equivalency or similarity between two values.
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Logic. a similar symbol indicating negation.
noun
Etymology
Origin of tilde
1860–65; < Spanish < Latin titulus superscription. See title
Explanation
A tilde is a character on a keyboard that looks like a wavy line (~). The Spanish alphabet has 27 letters instead of the English 26, because it includes both n and ñ, each of which is pronounced differently. The tilde has other uses as well. It is a diacritical mark in other languages, such as Portuguese, but it is also used in logic and math. When you put a tilde before a number, for example, you're saying that the number is approximate. If you wanted to say that your club had about $1,500 in the bank, you could use a tilde to write that the club had ~$1,500.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The correct Spanish pronunciation of “Angeleño” is “Ahn-hell-len-yo,” as dictated by the tilde, the diacritical mark above the second n.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 27, 2022
At the beginning of each episode, Saldaña's name is shown with a tilde over the n.
From Reuters • Oct. 20, 2021
While the tilde also never reached critical mass, cutesy emoji faces achieved global dominance, even among business associates.
From New York Times • Dec. 9, 2020
Designed by Oscar Niemeyer in the shape of the tilde above the “a” in São Paulo, the Copan celebrated its 50th birthday last year with middle age starting to take its toll.
From The Guardian • Nov. 30, 2017
Oh sir, he that has not a tilde house must bee glad of a thatch house.
From A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 4 by Bullen, A. H. (Arthur Henry)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
