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tiptoe

American  
[tip-toh] / ˈtɪpˌtoʊ /

noun

  1. the tip or end of a toe.

verb (used without object)

tiptoed, tiptoeing

  1. to move or go on tiptoe, as with caution or stealth.

    She tiptoed out of the room.

adjective

  1. characterized by standing or walking on tiptoe.

  2. straining upward.

  3. eagerly expectant.

  4. cautious; stealthy.

adverb

  1. eagerly or cautiously; on tiptoe.

idioms

  1. on tiptoe,

    1. on the tips of one's toes.

    2. expectant; eager.

      With Christmas coming, the children were on tiptoe.

    3. stealthily; cautiously.

      The concert had already begun, so he entered the back of the hall on tiptoe.
tiptoe British  
/ ˈtɪpˌtəʊ /

verb

  1. to walk with the heels off the ground and the weight supported by the ball of the foot and the toes

  2. to walk silently or stealthily

"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

noun

    1. on the tips of the toes or on the ball of the foot and the toes

    2. eagerly anticipating something

    3. stealthily or silently

"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

adverb

  1. on tiptoe

"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

adjective

  1. walking or standing on tiptoe

  2. stealthy or silent

"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
tiptoe More Idioms  

  1. see on tiptoe.

Etymology

Origin of tiptoe

1350–1400; Middle English tiptoon (plural noun). See tip 1, toe

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.

“The art is to tiptoe up to the edge of what’s possible.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Put all together, investors may remain understandably uneasy about the topic, even if they start to tiptoe back into oversold areas.

From Barron's

Silently, I slipped from beneath my bed of leaves and tiptoed over to the hole.

From Literature

They leaned their bikes against the bike rack and tiptoed into the library.

From Literature

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

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.