tiptoe
noun
tip·toe
| \ ˈtip-ˌtō
, -ˈtō\
, -ˈtō\
Definition of tiptoe
(Entry 1 of 4)
: the position of being balanced on the balls of the feet and toes with the heels raised
—usually used with on
also
: the ends of the toes
tiptoe
verb
tiptoed;
tiptoeing
Definition of tiptoe (Entry 2 of 4)
1
: to walk or proceed quietly or cautiously on or as if on tiptoe
tiptoe around the issue
2
: to stand or raise oneself on tiptoe
tiptoe
adverbDefinition of tiptoe (Entry 3 of 4)
: on or as if on tiptoe
tiptoe
adjectiveDefinition of tiptoe (Entry 4 of 4)
Examples of tiptoe in a Sentence
Verb
She tiptoed through the puddle. He tiptoed quietly around the house to avoid waking the children.Adverb
She had to stand tiptoe to reach the shelf.
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
On Tuesday, the Live with Kelly and Ryan host shared a very impressive photo of herself wearing some satin pointe shoes and balancing on her tiptoes. — Ashley Boucher, PEOPLE.com, "Kelly Ripa Shows Off Her Impressive Ballet Skills Balancing on Her Toes in Pointe Shoes," 14 Aug. 2019 As the song approached its end, Brown stood tall on his tiptoes, then shimmied his way down, line by line, bringing all the voices to a whisper. — Rebecca Tan, Washington Post, "Their music was ready to spill out. All they needed was a piano.," 27 July 2019 Now, as the consequences of light pollution tiptoe from the shadows and into the spotlight, cities, regulatory agencies, and conservation groups are agitating for solutions. — Babak Tafreshi, National Geographic, "Our nights are getting brighter, and Earth is paying the price," 3 Apr. 2019 The shoe also re-triggers the childhood trauma of seeing Barbie’s foot, frozen in an exaggerated tiptoe extension for eternity. — Christine Lennon, WSJ, "Why the Shiny Nude Pump Must Die," 31 May 2018 Women are still held to standards that men on their tiptoes could never reach. — Mattie Kahn, Glamour, "Tiffany Haddish Bombed a Stand-Up Set, But It's Her Apology After That Matters," 2 Jan. 2019 In America’s Game, the end of an era departed on tiptoe. — Michael Farber, SI.com, "Mark Moseley, Last of the Straight-On Kickers," 2 July 2018 The room was hot and sweaty and smelled like feet, and Red Bull skydiver Jeff Provenzano was struggling to hold a squat on tiptoe. — Jacqueline Detwiler, Popular Mechanics, "This Pro Skydiver Was Invincible—Until his Heart Stopped Beating Regularly," 22 June 2018 The tiptoe toward retirement carries far greater importance than the typical executive turnover. — Philip Elliott, Time, "Billionaire Industrialist David Koch Retires From Business and Politics," 5 June 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Though Taylor tiptoed past Mike Trout (infield pop-up) and Shohei Ohtani (groundball forceout at the plate), he was replaced with two outs by Marcus Walden, with manager Alex Cora electing a right-on-right matchup against slugger Albert Pujols. — Alex Speier, BostonGlobe.com, "Mookie Betts homers in first, 15th innings as Red Sox outlast Angels," 31 Aug. 2019 GameStop has also tiptoed into e-sports with sponsorships of teams in North Texas. — Maria Halkias, Dallas News, "GameStop lays off 120, mostly at its Grapevine headquarters," 20 Aug. 2019 Then reality tiptoed right back onto the scene as many either have already forgotten those remarks or had no idea they were ever uttered given what Biden said the very next day. — Michael Arceneaux, Essence, "Opinion: I’m Not Overlooking Joe Biden’s Gaffes Just Because Donald Trump Is A Racist Simpleton," 14 Aug. 2019 This raises a question: Are members of the news media tiptoeing around obvious questions about Trump's instability? — Brian Stelter, CNN, "The hardest Trump story for the press to cover: His fitness for the job," 25 Aug. 2019 For Pyongyang, the state dispatches must convey frustration while tiptoeing around wording that would signal rash military action or upset Mr. Trump. — Timothy W. Martin, WSJ, "North Korea Fires Insults at U.S., Spares Trump," 15 June 2019 Every year there seem to be a few teams tiptoeing over dangerous waters. — Conor Orr, SI.com, "The NFL’s Five Most Combustible Teams," 9 July 2019 Find your voice, find the strength to stand up to pressure, then find joy in walking your own path vs. tiptoeing on somebody else’s. — Carolyn Hax, The Mercury News, "Carolyn Hax: I’m afraid to tell my parents about the change in our wedding plans," 26 June 2019 Find your voice, find the strength to stand up to pressure, then find joy in walking your own path vs. tiptoeing on somebody else’s. — Carolyn Hax, Detroit Free Press, "Adult child worries about disappointing parents," 26 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tiptoe.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for tiptoe
tiptoe
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of tiptoe
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to walk with your heels raised up and only your toes touching the ground
tiptoe
adverbEnglish Language Learners Definition of tiptoe (Entry 2 of 2)
: with your toes touching the ground and your heels raised up
See the full definition for tiptoe in the English Language Learners Dictionary
tiptoe
noun
tip·toe
| \ ˈtip-ˌtō
\
\
Kids Definition of tiptoe
(Entry 1 of 3)
: the position of being balanced on the balls of the feet and toes with the heels raised
—usually used with on He stood on tiptoe.
tiptoe
adverb or adjectiveKids Definition of tiptoe (Entry 2 of 3)
: on or as if on the balls of the feet and toes with the heels raised
I walked tiptoe past the dog.
tiptoe
verb
tiptoed;
tiptoeing
Kids Definition of tiptoe (Entry 3 of 3)
: to walk on the balls of the feet and toes with the heels raised
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