tipoff

[ tip-awf, -of ]

/ ˈtɪpˌɔf, -ˌɒf /

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See synonyms for: tipoff / tipoffs on Thesaurus.com

noun Basketball.

a jump ball that begins each period.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of tipoff

First recorded in 1910–15; tip⁴ + (kick)off

Words nearby tipoff

tipburn, tipcart, tipcat, tipi, tip-in, tipoff, tip of the iceberg, tip one's hand, Tippecanoe, Tippecanoe and Tyler too, tippee

Other definitions for tipoff (2 of 2)

tip-off

[ tip-awf, -of ]

/ ˈtɪpˌɔf, -ˌɒf /

noun Informal.

the act of tipping off.

a hint or warning: They got a tip-off on the raid.

Origin of tip-off

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tipoff in a sentence

That April, while in Miami and just a few hours before tip-off for Philly’s second-to-last game of the season, then-Sixers head coach Brett Brown called his medical and training staff into a meeting.
Joel Embiid Changed His Offseason Conditioning. Now He’s Playing Like An MVP.|Yaron Weitzman|February 9, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
Star guard Bradley Beal missed Washington’s loss to the Miami Heat at Capital One Arena on Saturday after being pulled off the court an hour before tip-off because of contact tracing, but returned to play in a win over Phoenix on Monday.
Wizards, with two players in coronavirus protocols, cancel practice|Ava Wallace|January 12, 2021|Washington Post
The Bucks, who played host to the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, took the court like usual and claimed the opening tip-off.
Bucks, Pistons lead NBA protests of Jacob Blake decision, Capitol violence|Ben Golliver|January 7, 2021|Washington Post
In anticipation of tip-off, FiveThirtyEight’s RAPTOR projections are back too … and we’ve made some adjustments to improve our forecasts going forward.
What To Watch For In The 2020-21 NBA Season|Neil Paine (neil.paine@fivethirtyeight.com)|December 17, 2020|FiveThirtyEight

Hundreds of games have been postponed or canceled, some of them within hours of tip-off after teams already were on-site.
Amid college basketball’s pandemic ‘mess,’ calls for pausing the season grow louder|Matt Bonesteel|December 9, 2020|Washington Post
I assume he thinks Chuck Taylors are still as the sneaker of choice and supports the idea of grabbing a quick smoke before tipoff.
2014 NBA Preview: Skinny LeBron and the Racist Ghost of Donald Sterling|Robert Silverman|October 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Now a senior Iraqi official tells The Daily Beast that in fact there was no Libyan tipoff.
Coup Tip a Fake, Official Says|Babak Dehghanpisheh|November 2, 2011|DAILY BEAST
The tipoff on Tuesday was the venue for the press conference.
The One Who Got Away|Michael Daly|October 5, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Rick Perry and Mitt Romney went at it from the opening tipoff over who had the best record of creating jobs.
Perry Emerges Unscathed|Howard Kurtz|September 8, 2011|DAILY BEAST
W R wouldnt part with half a C for a tipoff on the Secondcoming.
Greener Than You Think|Ward Moore

British Dictionary definitions for tipoff

tip-off

noun

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

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

verb tip off

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

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with tipoff

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]