tiptoe
Americannoun
-
tiptoes
plural
verb (used without object)
-
tiptoes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
tiptoed,
past participle, past
-
tiptoeing
present participle
adjective
-
characterized by standing or walking on tiptoe.
-
straining upward.
-
eagerly expectant.
-
cautious; stealthy.
adverb
idioms
verb
-
to walk with the heels off the ground and the weight supported by the ball of the foot and the toes
-
to walk silently or stealthily
noun
adverb
adjective
-
walking or standing on tiptoe
-
stealthy or silent
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
tiptoesimple
-
tiptoessimple
-
have tiptoedperfect
-
has tiptoedperfect
-
am tiptoeingprogressive
-
are tiptoeingprogressive
-
is tiptoeingprogressive
-
have been tiptoeingperfect progressive
-
has been tiptoeingperfect progressive
Past
-
tiptoedsimple
-
had tiptoedperfect
-
was tiptoeingprogressive
-
were tiptoeingprogressive
-
had been tiptoeingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tiptoe
1350–1400; Middle English tiptoon (plural noun). See tip 1, toe
Explanation
To tiptoe is to walk with your weight on your toes, moving quietly. If you're late to your yoga class and everyone's lying still with their eyes closed, you may want to tiptoe to your mat. You can also use tiptoe as a noun or an adjective: "She had to stand on her tiptoes to reach the cabinet where the cookies are kept." Figuratively, you tiptoe when you avoid a certain topic: "There's no need to tiptoe around the subject of money—I don't mind talking about it." The variation tippy toes dates from the early 1800s.
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.
See Examples For:
He is betting the Western alliance will be healthier if America’s allies candidly air their disagreements with the president, rather than tiptoe around him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
Put all together, investors may remain understandably uneasy about the topic, even if they start to tiptoe back into oversold areas.
From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 2026
We tiptoe around finances because we’ve been programmed by society to link our personal value to our financial status.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 7, 2026
“It definitely just feels like we have to tiptoe around things, which I think gets in the way of having productive conversations in class,” Woodson said.
From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2025
She raised up on tiptoe and gave me a cool, soft kiss that tasted of Popsicles.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
You may find yourself joining the crowds on the sidewalk, balancing on your tiptoes while you peer through open windows at the nearest TV, a snack from a nearby street vendor clutched in your hand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
That mordant humor, however enjoyable, tiptoes around the unanswerable question of how, or even whether, we can tell the difference between cosplay and the real thing.
From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2026
Behind them, a slim figure reaches up on tiptoes, but the 1-month pad is still out of her reach.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2025
As the hearing ended, some of Mr Combs's supporters lingered at the door, on their tiptoes hoping to catch a sight of the rapper as he was escorted away.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2024
Mom tells him to walk, not run, through the house, and he responds by hurrying across the floorboards on his tiptoes.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
Powell tiptoed away from saying how the Fed would answer that riddle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026
The leaders tiptoed around thorny regional security issues like Taiwan and North Korea.
From New York Times ● May 27, 2024
The Dow Jones Industrial Average tiptoed less than 0.1% lower to 38,892.80, while the Nasdaq composite inched 5 points higher to 16,253.96.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 9, 2024
As he tiptoed round the thorny issue of why Manchester City are so much better than Manchester United, Pep Guardiola was careful to be both respectful and protective of fellow manager Erik ten Hag.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2023
“Now out I sneak, on my tyger feet,” and indeed, she was quieter than most as she tiptoed out of the room.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
Celtic fans are tiptoeing with trepidation into their first European action since their Champions League play-off collapse in Linz, a capitulation that has the same supporters questioning this team's big-game credentials, especially after Sunday.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Goldman board members and partners had grown accustomed to tiptoeing around the topic of Ruemmler and Epstein in front of Solomon, according to people familiar with the matter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026
Investors tiptoeing back into Chinese stocks may want to consider companies that would benefit both from the rise of AI and a potential effort by Beijing to boost consumption.
From Barron's ● Dec. 27, 2025
“Be back in a minute,” Peggy Jo told her mother, tiptoeing past her room.
From Slate ● Nov. 15, 2025
Nevertheless, Claudia was tiptoeing into the grown-up world.
From "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E.L. Konigsburg
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.
