1
: a rope or wire stretched taut for acrobats to perform on
2
: a dangerously precarious situation
—usually used in the phrase walk a tightrope
Examples of tightrope in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The governor has walked a tightrope on the AI question, vetoing a bill last year that would have put strict limits on how AI chatbots can interact with children, and approving a much narrower proposal.
—
Kate Wolffe, Sacbee.com, 9 Jan. 2026
Given the unwieldy amount of money flowing through college sports, anything that limits a player’s eligibility is already walking the tightrope of being an antitrust violation.
—Brendan Marks, New York Times, 1 Jan. 2026
Death-defying acts are usually performed at the circus, but watching the off-Broadway musical, Slam Frank, is like witnessing a handful of actors juggling scalpels while traversing a tightrope strung over a field of burning truck tires… and singing and dancing to some very catchy music.
—Frank Digiacomo, Billboard, 15 Dec. 2025
The show of European unity was expected to see Zelenskyy continue his delicate diplomatic tightrope walk.
—Duarte Dias, CBS News, 8 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tightrope
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Kate Wolffe, Sacbee.com, 9 Jan. 2026
Given the unwieldy amount of money flowing through college sports, anything that limits a player’s eligibility is already walking the tightrope of being an antitrust violation.
—Brendan Marks, New York Times, 1 Jan. 2026
Death-defying acts are usually performed at the circus, but watching the off-Broadway musical, Slam Frank, is like witnessing a handful of actors juggling scalpels while traversing a tightrope strung over a field of burning truck tires… and singing and dancing to some very catchy music.
—Frank Digiacomo, Billboard, 15 Dec. 2025
The show of European unity was expected to see Zelenskyy continue his delicate diplomatic tightrope walk.
—Duarte Dias, CBS News, 8 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tightrope
Cite this Entry
“Tightrope.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tightrope. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tightrope
noun
tight·rope
-ˌrōp 
: a rope or wire stretched tight for acrobats to perform on
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