: the position of being balanced on the balls of the feet and toes with the heels raised
—usually used with on
also
: the ends of the toes
tiptoed; tiptoeing
1
: to walk or proceed quietly or cautiously on or as if on tiptoe
tiptoe around the issue
2
: to stand or raise oneself on tiptoe
: on or as if on tiptoe
Examples of tiptoe in a Sentence
Verb
She tiptoed through the puddle.
He tiptoed quietly around the house to avoid waking the children.
Adverb
She had to stand tiptoe to reach the shelf.
Recent Examples on the Web
Katie Rife, Vulture, 19 Nov. 2024
The glimmering Mediterranean tempts beachgoers to cross sharp rocks on tiptoe, jump into the sea and laugh in swirling currents.
—Lily Radziemski, New York Times, 29 May 2025
Evan Clark, Footwear News, 18 July 2025
The water had risen so high, Burgess tiptoed to keep her head above it.
—Suzanne Gamboa, NBC news, 6 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for tiptoe
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Noun
The moment when Sean soothes Laszlo’s fears of losing his best human buddy by telling him that the fear of dying just makes every living moment more special — something else a centuries-old vampire wouldn’t understand — tiptoes right up to the edge of sentimentalism.
—Katie Rife, Vulture, 19 Nov. 2024
The glimmering Mediterranean tempts beachgoers to cross sharp rocks on tiptoe, jump into the sea and laugh in swirling currents.
—Lily Radziemski, New York Times, 29 May 2025
Verb
But according to the growing stack of legal paperwork, Hunsicker was not just tiptoeing across the line, but sprinting past it, doctoring audit reports, falsifying other documents, faking a screen shot of CaaStle’s bank accounts and overstating revenues by more than 7,300 percent.
—Evan Clark, Footwear News, 18 July 2025
The water had risen so high, Burgess tiptoed to keep her head above it.
—Suzanne Gamboa, NBC news, 6 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for tiptoe
Cite this Entry
“Tiptoe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tiptoe. Accessed 23 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tiptoe
1 of 3 noun
tip·toe
ˈtip-ˌtō 
-ˈtō
1
: the tip of a toe
2
: the ends of the toes
tiptoe
2 of 3 adverb or adjective
: on or as if on tiptoe
tiptoe
3 of 3 verb
tiptoed; tiptoeing
: to walk on tiptoe
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