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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

tilt.

To slope or incline (something); to slant.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/tɪlt/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. To slope or incline (something); to slant.

    transitive
    Tilt the barrel to pour out its contents.
  2. To be at an angle.

    intransitive
  3. To charge (at someone) with a lance.

    intransitive
  4. To point or thrust a weapon at.

    transitive
  5. To point or thrust (a weapon).

    transitive
  6. To forge (something) with a tilt hammer.

    to tilt steel in order to render it more ductile
  7. To intentionally let the ball fall down to the drain by disabling flippers and most targets, done as a punishment to the player when the machine is nudged too violently or frequently.

  8. To enter a state of frustration and worsened performance resulting from a series of losses.

    slang
  9. To modify one's approach.

    figuratively
Where this word comes from

From Middle English tilte, from Old English *tyltan, *tieltan (“to be unsteady”), related to the adjective tealt (“unsteady”), from Proto-West Germanic *talt, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *del-, *dul- (“to shake, hesitate”), see also Dutch touteren (“to tremble”), North Frisian talt, tolt (“unstable, shaky”). Cognate with Icelandic tölt (“an ambling pace”). The nominal sense of "a joust" appears around 1510, presumably derived from the barrier which separated the combatants, which suggests connection with tilt "covering". The modern transitive meaning is from 1590; the intransitive use appears 1620. The sense of gaming frustration is said to originate with pinball.

noun/tɪlt/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. A slope or inclination.

    countable · uncountable
  2. The inclination of part of the body, such as backbone, pelvis, head, etc.

    countable · uncountable
  3. The controlled vertical movement of a camera, or a device to achieve this.

    countable · uncountable
  4. A jousting contest. (countable)

    countable · uncountable
  5. An attempt, run, or bid for something; commonly with a sense of bold defiance or against steep odds.

    countable · uncountable
    He made a tilt at public office
  6. A thrust, as with a lance.

    countable · uncountable
  7. A tilt hammer.

    countable · uncountable
  8. A penalty triggered when a player physically shakes, lifts, or bangs a pinball machine too violently in an attempt to influence the path of the ball.

    countable · uncountable
  9. A state of frustration and worsened performance resulting from a series of losses.

    slang · uncountable
    to go on tilt
Where this word comes from

From Middle English tilte, from Old English *tyltan, *tieltan (“to be unsteady”), related to the adjective tealt (“unsteady”), from Proto-West Germanic *talt, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *del-, *dul- (“to shake, hesitate”), see also Dutch touteren (“to tremble”), North Frisian talt, tolt (“unstable, shaky”). Cognate with Icelandic tölt (“an ambling pace”). The nominal sense of "a joust" appears around 1510, presumably derived from the barrier which separated the combatants, which suggests connection with tilt "covering". The modern transitive meaning is from 1590; the intransitive use appears 1620. The sense of gaming frustration is said to originate with pinball.

noun/tɪlt/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. A canvas covering for carts, boats, etc.

  2. Any covering overhead; especially, a tent.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English telte, tield, teld, from Old English teld (“tent”), from Proto-West Germanic *teld, from Proto-Germanic *teldą (“tent”). Perhaps influenced by Middle Low German telt, or Danish telt. Cognates include German Zelt (“tent”), Old Norse tjald (“tent”) (whence also archaic Danish tjæld (“tent”)). More at teld.

verb/tɪlt/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. To cover with a tilt, or awning.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English telte, tield, teld, from Old English teld (“tent”), from Proto-West Germanic *teld, from Proto-Germanic *teldą (“tent”). Perhaps influenced by Middle Low German telt, or Danish telt. Cognates include German Zelt (“tent”), Old Norse tjald (“tent”) (whence also archaic Danish tjæld (“tent”)). More at teld.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.