tightrope

noun

tight·​rope ˈtīt-ˌrōp 

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

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

Macfadyen especially allows Guiteau to walk a challenging tightrope, discomfiting and intensely unlikable but never exactly unmoored from reality, never too far gone into easy, inhuman evil. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025

Joel Dahmen Joel Dahmen has been walking a tightrope for the last couple of seasons and ultimately failed to retain his card in 2025. —Julio Cesar Valdera Morales, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1801, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for tightrope

• downslope
• elope
• hillslope
• upslope
• antelope
• bronchoscope
• cantaloupe
• cystoscope
• endoscope
• envelope
• epitope
• gyroscope

Kids Definition

tightrope

noun

tight·​rope -ˌrōp 

: a rope or wire stretched tight for acrobats to perform on