tilt

[ tilt ]

/ tɪlt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tilt ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to cause to lean, incline, slope, or slant.

to rush at or charge, as in a joust.

to hold poised for attack, as a lance.

to move (a camera) up or down on its vertical axis for photographing or televising a moving character, object, or the like.

verb (used without object)

to move into or assume a sloping position or direction.

to strike, thrust, or charge with a lance or the like (usually followed by at).

to engage in a joust, tournament, or similar contest.

(of a camera) to move on its vertical axis: The camera tilts downward for an overhead shot.

to incline in opinion, feeling, etc.; lean: She's tilting toward the other candidate this year.

noun

an act or instance of tilting.

the state of being tilted; a sloping position.

a slope.

a joust or any other contest.

a dispute; controversy.

a thrust of a weapon, as at a tilt or joust.

(in aerial photography) the angle formed by the direction of aim of a camera and a perpendicular to the surface of the earth.

Nearby words

tillite, tillotson, tillotson, john, tilly, tilsit, tilt, tilt at windmills, tilt hammer, tilt-top table, tilt-up, tilth

Idioms

(at) full tilt. full tilt.

tilt at windmills, to contend against imaginary opponents or injustices.Also fight with windmills.

Origin of tilt

1300–50; Middle English tylten to upset, tumble < Scandinavian; compare dialectal Norwegian tylta to tiptoe, tylten unsteady; akin to Old English tealt unsteady, tealtian to totter, amble, Middle Dutch touteren to sway

Related formstilt·a·ble, adjectivetilt·er, noun

Definition for tilt (2 of 2)

tilt

[ tilt ]

/ tɪlt /

noun

a cover of coarse cloth, canvas, etc., as for a wagon.

an awning.

verb (used with object)

to furnish with a tilt.

Origin of tilt

1400–50; late Middle English, variant of tild, Old English teld; cognate with German Zelt tent, Old Norse tjald tent, curtain

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tilt

Seasons on Earth and Titan are both due to the tilt of their axis—the way the North Pole faces—relative to their orbit.
A Cloud Forms Over Saturn’s Mysterious Moon|Matthew R. Francis|August 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
When out and about, if we feel threatened, as we always do, we tilt our heads back and cry out, “ALL THE SINGLE LADIES!”
Getting to Know the ‘Beyoncé Voter’|Kelly Williams Brown|July 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This tilt towards of the financial elites, as Elizabeth Warren has noted, occurred during both the Bush and Obama Administrations.
Dawn of the Age of Oligarchy: the Alliance between Government and the 1%|Joel Kotkin|June 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But administration officials and panel members say he in no way sought to tilt the outcome in one direction or the other.
Obama’s Defining Fight: How He Will Take On the NSA’s Surveillance State in 2014|Daniel Klaidman|December 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST

In most places the local social establishment that dictates the agenda will tilt right.
How Legislators View Their Constituents|Michael Tomasky|September 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Courage, Madam, be not afraid to tilt a lance even with your own cook.
The Second Thoughts of An Idle Fellow|Jerome K. Jerome
We allow the appeal, and it shall be decided this afternoon in the tilt yard.
The House of Walderne|A. D. Crake
The three cut a supply of dry wood and piled what they could in the tilt, placing the rest within reach of the door.
Ungava Bob|Dillon Wallace
And all she has to do to bring Peyton alongside is to tilt her chin invitin'.
Torchy and Vee|Sewell Ford
The dip (or tilt) of the ancient lava flows could be traced from one island to another.
Across Iceland|William Bisiker

British Dictionary definitions for tilt (1 of 2)

tilt

/ (tɪlt) /

verb

to incline or cause to incline at an angle

(usually intr) to attack or overthrow (a person or people) in a tilt or joust

(when intr, often foll by at) to aim or thrustto tilt a lance

(tr) to work or forge with a tilt hammer

noun

a slope or angleat a tilt

the act of tilting

(esp in medieval Europe)

a jousting contest
a thrust with a lance or pole delivered during a tournament

an attempt to win a contest

See tilt hammer

full tilt or at full tilt at full speed or force

Derived Formstilter, noun

Word Origin for tilt

Old English tealtian; related to Dutch touteren to totter, Norwegian tylta to tiptoe, tylten unsteady

British Dictionary definitions for tilt (2 of 2)

tilt

/ (tɪlt) /

noun

an awning or canopy, usually of canvas, for a boat, booth, etc

verb

(tr) to cover or provide with a tilt

Word Origin for tilt

Old English teld; related to Old High German zelt tent, Old Norse tjald tent

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

Word Origin and History for tilt (1 of 3)

tilt

Old English *tyltan "to be unsteady," from tealt "unsteady," from Proto-Germanic *taltaz (cf. Old Norse tyllast "to trip," Swedish tulta "to waddle," Norwegian tylta "to walk on tip-toe," Middle Dutch touteren "to swing"). Meaning "to cause to lean, tip, slope" (1590s) is from sense of "push or fall over." Intransitive sense first recorded 1620s. Related: Tilted; tilting.

Word Origin and History for tilt (1 of 3)

tilt

n.1

"a joust, a combat," 1510s, perhaps from tilt (v.) on the notion of "to lean" into an attack, but the word originally seems to have been the name of the barrier which separated the combatants, which suggests connection with tilt in an earlier meaning "covering of coarse cloth, an awning" (mid-15c.), which is probably from tilt (v.), but perhaps related to or influenced by tent, or it may be from a Germanic source akin to Old English beteldan "to cover." The verb is recorded from 1590s. Hence, also full tilt (c.1600).

Word Origin and History for tilt (2 of 3)

tilt

n.2

"condition of being tilted," 1837, from tilt (v.).

tilt

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

noun

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Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of tilt

Definition for tilt (2 of 2)

tilt

noun

verb (used with object)

Origin of tilt

Examples from the Web for tilt

British Dictionary definitions for tilt (1 of 2)

tilt

verb

noun

Word Origin for tilt

British Dictionary definitions for tilt (2 of 2)

tilt

noun

verb

Word Origin for tilt

Word Origin and History for tilt (1 of 3)

tilt

Word Origin and History for tilt (1 of 3)

tilt

Word Origin and History for tilt (2 of 3)

tilt