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• tip-off
  tip-off

  noun

  the act of tipping off.
• tip off
  tip off

  Supply with secret or private information; also, warn or alert. For example, The broker often tipped her off about stocks about to go down in price, or Somehow they were tipped off and left the country before the police could catch them. [Colloquial; late 1800s]

tip-off

American  

[tip-awf, -of] / ˈtɪpˌɔf, -ˌɒf /

noun

Informal.

1. the act of tipping off.

2. a hint or warning.

   They got a tip-off on the raid.

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tip-off British  

noun

1. a warning or hint, esp given confidentially and based on inside information

2. basketball the act or an instance of putting the ball in play by a jump ball

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verb

1. (tr, adverb) to give a hint or warning to

tip off Idioms  

1. Supply with secret or private information; also, warn or alert. For example, The broker often tipped her off about stocks about to go down in price, or Somehow they were tipped off and left the country before the police could catch them. [Colloquial; late 1800s]

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Etymology

Origin of tip-off

First recorded in 1910–15; noun use of verb phrase tip off

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tip-off tip off

Some 35 bodies and more than 100 sets of ashes were found by police who raided Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull following a tip-off in March 2024.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

The tip-off: Some of the voices they intercepted had southern accents.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

Northern Territory Police Force Commissioner Martin Dole said that 25 years was a "significant milestone" and that he hoped the release of new images could jog memories or lead to a tip-off.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

Another tip-off for me about our friendship was that he never mentioned politics or religion.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 8, 2026

You probably wouldn’t even want to change answers on every student’s test—another tip-off.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

The Dodgers did not point to a cause for the concern, but Rushing did take a foul tip off his mask on Will Klein’s first pitch of the game.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026

Durant was ruled out about 90 minutes before tip off.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2026

But even before the first-round games tip off this week, Scheyer’s team has already made history.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 15, 2026

It came after a tip off from House of Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle that the former cabinet minister may have been planning to travel to the British Virgin Islands.

From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2026

McKissick and student leaders had kept plans for the rally secret, fearing that more conservative blacks would tip off the authorities.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson