tipsy

adjective

tip·​sy ˈtip-sē How to pronounce tipsy (audio)
tipsier; tipsiest
1
: unsteady, staggering, or foolish from the effects of liquor : fuddled
2
: unsteady, askew
a tipsy angle
tipsily adverb
tipsiness noun

Examples of tipsy in a Sentence

I got a little tipsy at the party last night. our uncle had too much to drink at the wedding and got a little tipsy
Recent Examples on the Web The beer was flowing, the bratwurst were sizzling and the brass band at the village May Day festival led the crowd in ever tipsier renditions of the local drinking song. Erika Solomon, New York Times, 28 May 2023 Complement the experience with Harrods Champagne (just mind your shopping when you're tipsy). Sarah Bray, Town & Country, 21 June 2023 Suddenly, the Lions’ efforts looked less like a tipsy father-in-law’s fantasy draft and more like a master class in resource management. Mike Tanier, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2023 On her first season of Drag Race, Monsoon shared that her persona, often a tipsy mommy of a certain age, was partially inspired by her tumultuous time with a substance-abusing single mom. Vulture, 20 Jan. 2023 After a tiring day of press running around the Big Apple and a multi-course dinner celebrating the forthcoming release of his Glockoma 2 album, a tipsy Key Glock already has his sights set on his next project. Michael Saponara, Billboard, 1 Mar. 2023 This place has been making tipsy people feel like legitimate rock stars since the late 1980s. Megan Dubois, Chron, 24 Feb. 2023 The Family Reunion star took to Instagram to share a funny montage of her tipsy evening. Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 2 Feb. 2023 Debra Jo Rupp played the endearing, often tipsy capital-M matriarch for the entirety of That ’70s Show’s run, nurturing anybody and anything that had the luck of crossing the threshold of her screen door. Vulture, 27 Jan. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tipsy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

tip entry 1 + -sy (as in tricksy)

First Known Use

1577, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of tipsy was in 1577

Dictionary Entries Near tipsy

Cite this Entry

“Tipsy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tipsy. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

tipsy

adjective
tip·​sy ˈtip-sē How to pronounce tipsy (audio)
tipsier; tipsiest
: unsteady or foolish from drinking

More from Merriam-Webster on tipsy

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