tiptoe

verb

tiptoed; tiptoeing

intransitive verb

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

Examples of tiptoe in a Sentence

She tiptoed through the puddle.

He tiptoed quietly around the house to avoid waking the children.

Recent Examples on the Web

Its muscular stone-and-concrete base seems to sprout from the landscape, while the translucent, cantilevered second floor appears to tiptoe across it atop slender steel columns. —Fred Albert, Forbes.com, 6 June 2026

Yes, the Avs are tiptoeing into salary-cap Hades. —Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 31 May 2026

Even when The Breadwinner starts to tiptoe toward potential reactionary ideas about who belongs in the workplace and who belongs at home, the movie backs off and makes sure that no leaves the theater riled up. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 28 May 2026

The baby bawled, the women and girls tiptoed, and at last Lina and the Brown family reached the ground and ran across the street. —Danielle Parker, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1661, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing tiptoe

• on tiptoe
• tiptoe around

Rhymes for tiptoe

• beau
• beaut
• beaux
• blow
• bro
• coe
• crow
• doe
• doh
• dough
• eau
• eaux

Kids Definition

tiptoe

1 of 3 noun

tip·​toe ˈtip-ˌtō 

-ˈtō

1

: the tip of a toe

2

: the ends of the toes

tiptoe

2 of 3 adverb or adjective

: on or as if on tiptoe

tiptoe

3 of 3 verb

tiptoed; tiptoeing

: to walk on tiptoe