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
In-game items like PS1 memory cards and DualShock controller cables double for platforms and tightropes to walk.
—
Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 5 Sep. 2024
French high wire artist Philippe Petit walks across a tightrope suspended between the World Trade Center's Twin Towers, in New York, August 7, 1974.
—Martha Teichner, CBS News, 4 Aug. 2024
This leaves Harris with a difficult political tightrope to walk.
—Nicole Narea, Vox, 25 July 2024
Meanwhile, Harris faces a political tightrope at this week's convention to pay tribute to Biden, who will address the convention Monday night, while setting her own agenda and trying to distance herself from the low marks voters still give Biden on his handling of the economy and inflation.
—Joey Garrison, USA TODAY, 18 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tightrope 
Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 5 Sep. 2024
French high wire artist Philippe Petit walks across a tightrope suspended between the World Trade Center's Twin Towers, in New York, August 7, 1974.
—Martha Teichner, CBS News, 4 Aug. 2024
This leaves Harris with a difficult political tightrope to walk.
—Nicole Narea, Vox, 25 July 2024
Meanwhile, Harris faces a political tightrope at this week's convention to pay tribute to Biden, who will address the convention Monday night, while setting her own agenda and trying to distance herself from the low marks voters still give Biden on his handling of the economy and inflation.
—Joey Garrison, USA TODAY, 18 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tightrope
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tightrope.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near tightrope
Cite this Entry
“Tightrope.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tightrope. Accessed 20 Sep. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tightrope
noun
tight·rope
-ˌrōp 
: a rope or wire stretched tight for acrobats to perform on
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