tip

¹ American  

[tip] / tɪp /

noun

1. 

   a slender or pointed end or extremity, especially of anything long or tapered.

   the tips of the fingers.

2. the top, summit, or apex.

   the tip of the mountain.

3. a small piece or part, as of metal or leather, forming or covering the extremity of something.

   a cane with a rubber tip.

4. Also called tip-in, tip-on. an insert, as an illustration, map, or errata slip, pasted to a page of a book, magazine, etc., usually along the binding margin.

5. a small, delicate tool made of fine hair cemented between two cards, for applying gold leaf.

---

verb (used with object)

tipped, tipping

1. to furnish with a tip.

2. to serve as or form the tip of.

3. to mark or adorn the tip of.

4. to remove the tip or stem of (berries or certain fruits or vegetables).

5. to frost the ends of (hair strands).

   I'm having my hair cut and tipped tomorrow.

verb phrase

1. tip in to paste the inner margin of (a map, illustration, or other plate) into a signature before gathering.

tip ² American  

[tip] / tɪp /

verb (used with object)

tipped, tipping

1. to cause to assume a slanting or sloping position; incline; tilt.

2. to overturn, upset, or overthrow (often followed byover ).

3. to remove or lift (one's hat or cap) in salutation.

4. British. to empty out (contents) from a container by tilting; dump: Tip the batter into a rectangular baking dish.

   The dustmen tipped the rubbish on the municipal dump.

   Tip the batter into a rectangular baking dish.

---

verb (used without object)

tipped, tipping

1. to assume a slanting or sloping position; incline.

2. to tilt up at one end and down at the other; slant.

3. to be overturned or upset.

   The car tipped into the ditch.

4. to tumble or topple (usually followed byover ).

   The lamp on the table tipped over.

noun

1. the act of tipping.

2. the state of being tipped.

3. British.

   1. a dump for refuse, as that from a mine.

   2. Informal. an untidy place, especially a room.

      They must have packed and left in a rush, because the place is an absolute tip.

idioms

1. tip one's hand, to reveal one's plans, true feelings, etc., often unintentionally.

tip ³ American  

[tip] / tɪp /

noun

1. a small present of money given directly to someone for performing a service or menial task; gratuity.

   He gave the waiter a dollar as a tip.

2. a piece of private or secret information, as for use in betting, speculating, or writing a news story.

   a tip from a bookie.

3. a useful hint or idea; a basic, practical fact.

   tips on painting.

   Synonyms:

   pointer, suggestion

---

verb (used with object)

tipped, tipping

1. to give a gratuity to.

verb (used without object)

tipped, tipping

1. to give a gratuity.

   She tipped lavishly.

verb phrase

1. tip off

   1. to supply with private or secret information; inform.

   2. to warn of impending danger or trouble; caution beforehand.

      The moonshiners had been tipped off that they were about to be raided.

tip ⁴ American  

[tip] / tɪp /

noun

1. a light, smart blow; tap.

2. Baseball. a batted ball that glances off the bat.

---

verb (used with object)

tipped, tipping

1. to strike or hit with a light, smart blow; tap.

2. Baseball. to strike (the ball) with a glancing blow.

tip ¹ British  

/ tɪp /

verb

1. to tilt or cause to tilt

2. to tilt or cause to tilt, so as to overturn or fall

3. to dump (rubbish, etc)

4. to take off, raise, or touch one's hat in salutation

---

noun

1. the act of tipping or the state of being tipped

2. a dump for refuse, etc

tip ² British  

/ tɪp /

noun

1. the extreme end of something, esp a narrow or pointed end

2. the top or summit

3. a small piece forming an extremity or end

   a metal tip on a cane

---

verb

1. to adorn or mark the tip of

2. to cause to form a tip

tip ³ British  

/ tɪp /

noun

1. a payment given for services in excess of the standard charge; gratuity

2. a helpful hint, warning, or other piece of information

3. a piece of inside information, esp in betting or investing

---

verb

1. to give a tip to (a person)

tip ⁴ British  

/ tɪp /

verb

1. to hit or strike lightly

2. to hit (a ball) indirectly so that it glances off the bat in cricket

---

noun

1. a light blow

2. a glancing hit in cricket

tip More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing tip

• from head (tip) to toe
• on the tip of one's tongue

---

Other Word Forms

• tipless
  adjective
• tippable
  adjective
• untippable
  adjective

---

Etymology

Origin of tip¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English; compare Dutch, Low German, Danish tip, Swedish tipp, German zipf- in Zipfel “tip”

Origin of tip²

First recorded in 1300–50; earlier tipen, Middle English typen “to upset, overturn”

Origin of tip³

First recorded in 1600–10; perhaps special use of tip ⁴

Origin of tip⁴

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English (noun); perhaps from Low German; compare German tippen “to tap,” from Low German

---

Explanation

The pointed or tapered end of something is its tip. There's the tip of your dog's wagging tail, the tips of your fingers, or the tip of the continent of South America. When you can almost remember someone's name, you might say it's on the tip of your tongue, and when something's just "the tip of the iceberg," it's only one small bit of a much larger problem. Other meanings of tip include "tilt," like when you tip your hat as you stroll down the street, and "gratuity," or the extra money you give a waiter or barber in exchange for good service.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tip tipped tipping

A feat like that definitely deserves a tip of the hat.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

He was born to Moroccan parents and raised in a rough neighborhood in Eilat, at Israel’s southern tip.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

“Ideally, we’d love to see those scales tip a little bit more, right?”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

He addressed the issue of coal tip safety in Wales during his visit, saying it was of "critical importance" that the remaining tips in Wales are made safe.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

Just as suddenly, the bus slammed back on the road and started to tip.

From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith

Darius Garland, microphone in hand, waited patiently at midcourt to speak before the Clippers tipped off their 2026-27 NBA season against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night at Intuit Dome.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

No doubt the surge in generative artificial intelligence use is what tipped the scales, but of course, not all bots are created equal.

From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2026

The pace accelerated from August’s 68.7% increase even though there were fewer working days during the holiday-shortened month, and beat the 65.4% increase tipped by a Wall Street Journal survey of 13 economists.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Bardella, 31, tipped to be prime minister if Le Pen becomes France's president, wrote on X he "formally" rejected the allegations which he described as "crude forgeries", saying he would take legal action against Mediapart.

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

That thing seemed to be moving and on the prowl even when it was tipped into the ditch.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

Roberts said fly tipping is a "major problem" for London and explained there were nearly half a million incidents, across the capital, last year alone.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

They asked not to identify their tracking methods to avoid tipping off criminals.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

The researchers then adjusted the lasers until the entire system reached the critical tipping point they wanted to study.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026

“We’re at a cultural tipping point,” says William Doherty, a therapist and professor emeritus of family social science at the University of Minnesota.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

A few men and women walk to and fro, some tipping their hats to Hildy, most just staring at us.

From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• bend
• dump
• lean
• spill
• tilt
• topple
• upset

---