as in warning
something that tells of approaching danger or risk
the retreat of the island's wildlife to higher ground was a tip-off that a tsunami was about to strike
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Recent Examples of tip (off)
Todd Symons, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2025
Hazard on open waters The tip-off came from the Marine Corps and the Smögen Sea Rescue Company, who warned that the object appeared big enough to pose a hazard to shipping.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2025
Her exact shoes were the Ugg Coquette Slippers — the chestnut color and lugged soles are typical tip-offs of the brand.
—Alyssa Grabinski, People.com, 19 Aug. 2025
This growing parity ensures an electrifying tournament filled with unexpected twists, upsets, and edge-of-the-seat moments from the opening tip-off to the final buzzer.
—Sindiswa Mabunda, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tip (off)
Verb
How he was caught Around 2.30 a.m. Monday morning, police received a tip-off that a man and a child wearing headlamps were breaking into a farm supplies store in Piopio, a town of fewer than 500 people, over an hour’s drive from Marokopa.
—Todd Symons, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2025
Hazard on open waters The tip-off came from the Marine Corps and the Smögen Sea Rescue Company, who warned that the object appeared big enough to pose a hazard to shipping.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2025
Her exact shoes were the Ugg Coquette Slippers — the chestnut color and lugged soles are typical tip-offs of the brand.
—Alyssa Grabinski, People.com, 19 Aug. 2025
This growing parity ensures an electrifying tournament filled with unexpected twists, upsets, and edge-of-the-seat moments from the opening tip-off to the final buzzer.
—Sindiswa Mabunda, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tip (off)
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tip (off)
Noun
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Vehicles included in this recall may have an error in the instrument panel software at startup, failing to show speed, brake system information, and tire pressure warning lights.—
Olivia Evans,
Louisville Courier Journal,
3 Oct. 2025
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There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect due to Tropical Storm Octave, according to the NHC.—
Julia Gomez,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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With no agreement in place, the government will soon begin the arduous process of winding down operations, sending furlough notices, and notifying contractors.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
1 Oct. 2025
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The Hennepin County jail, for example, won’t hold people solely for administrative immigration detainers and doesn’t notify immigration authorities when individuals subject to those detainers are released.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The only way attorneys knew their client was detained at the site was because a family member informed them following a phone call from one of the phones located inside cells at the facility.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
2 Oct. 2025
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And then another thing to keep in mind is the importance of being informed, knowing what’s going on in the world.—
María Mérida,
Glamour,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Most of the cases presented took place during the 80s and 90s in Korea, before the internet, streaming video, and mobile devices kept us so apprised of manmade horrors being perpetrated on the other side of the world.—
Kayti Burt,
Time,
15 Aug. 2025
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While Coward didn’t officially announce his intention to stay in the draft — where he was selected 11th by the Portland Trail Blazers and traded to the Memphis Grizzlies — until May 24, Scheyer said Coward kept the program apprised of his thinking every step of the way.—
Brendan Marks,
New York Times,
9 July 2025
Verb
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Let’s tie it all together by predicting that the first meeting of the season between Toronto and Philadelphia gets well and truly out of control … which by today’s standards means there are three fights in the game.—
Sean McIndoe,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
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High geopolitical volatility makes predicting the market’s future even more difficult than usual, a Reuters columnist argued.—
Matthew Martin,
semafor.com,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Any development is forecasted to be slow and will occur as the area moves towards the northwest.—
Julia Gomez,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
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The external factors of the crisis Since 2020, Cuba’s gross domestic product has shrunk by almost 11%, with economists forecasting a further decline of 1%-2% in 2025.—
Joseph J. Gonzalez,
The Conversation,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Houthis are led by a family of clerical megalomaniacs who have been prophesying apocalyptic war since the early 2000s.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
2 Sep. 2025
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Thus, Botticelli’s Jesus, who stares at the fruit in deep thought, perhaps prophesies his own death and return, as opposed to the child in the Dreyfus Madonna, who proudly shows the unity of his church to his mother.—
Demir Alp,
JSTOR Daily,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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One of Redford’s last screen roles, which presaged his retirement from acting in 2018, was as the career criminal Forrest Tucker in David Lowery’s The Old Man & the Gun.—
K. Austin Collins,
The Atlantic,
16 Sep. 2025
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Local officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony this morning at Philadelphia’s Calder Gardens, the new sanctuary honoring pathbreaking sculptor Alexander Calder, presaging its opening to the public, which is set for September 21.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
15 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tip (off).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tip%20%28off%29. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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