Tiptoe

//ˈtɪpˌtoʊ// adj, name, noun, verb

adj, name, noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The tip of the toe. plural-normally
  2. 2
    the tip of a toe wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To walk quietly with only the tips of the toes touching the ground. intransitive

    "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."

  2. 2
    walk on one's toes wordnet
Adjective
  1. 1
    Standing elevated, on or as if on the tips of one's toes. not-comparable

    "Night's candles are burnt out, and jocund day / Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops."

  2. 2
    Moving carefully, quietly, warily or stealthily, on or as if on the tips of one's toes. not-comparable

    "with tiptoe step"

Adverb
  1. 1
    on tiptoe or as if on tiptoe wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A small village in Hordle parish and Sway parish, New Forest district, Hampshire, England (OS grid ref SZ2597).

Synonyms

All synonyms
aboveabovestairsairwardall foursaloftaloof

Example

More examples

"I went up to my bedroom on tiptoe."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English tipto, typto; equivalent to tip + toe. Compare fingertip.

Etymology 2

Derived from a surname of French origin recorded in the 13th century as "Typetot".

Related phrases

on tiptoetiptoe aroundtiptoe through a minefieldtiptoe around

More for "tiptoe"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.