Tiptoe Meaning
/ˈtɪpˌtəʊ/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounThe tip of the toe.
adjStanding elevated, on or as if on the tips of one's toes.
Sentence Examples
Kate tries to walk on tiptoe.
I went up to my bedroom on tiptoe.
CEFR Practice Quiz
She had to ____ across the room so she wouldn't wake the baby.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She had to ____ past her brother's room so that she would not wake him up while he was sleeping today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English tipto, typto; equivalent to tip + toe. Compare fingertip.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Night's candles are burnt out, and jocund day / Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops."
— c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene v]:
"And ever as they talked Beregond was more amazed, and looked with greater wonder at the hobbit, swinging his short legs as he sat on the seat, or standing tiptoe upon it to peer over the sill at the lands below."
— 1955 October 20, J[ohn] R[onald] R[euel] Tolkien, “Minas Tirith”, in The Return of the King: Being the Third Part of The Lord of the Rings […], New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, published December 1978, →ISBN, book V, page 39:
"with tiptoe step"
— 1782, William Cowper, Expostulation:
"And stole along on tiptoe tread"
— 1819, Lord Byron, The Prophecy of Dante:
"We went tip-toeing along a path amongst the trees back towards the end of the widow's garden, stooping down so as the branches wouldn't scrape our heads."
— 1884 December 10, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter II, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade) […], London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC, page 8:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She had to ____ across the room so she wouldn't wake the baby.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She had to ____ past her brother's room so that she would not wake him up while he was sleeping today.