tilt

  • verb 1 move into a sloping position. 2 incline towards a particular opinion: he is tilting towards a new economic course. 3 (tilt at) historical (in jousting) thrust at with a lance or other weapon.

  • noun 1 a tilting position or movement. 2 an inclination or bias. 3 historical a joust. 4 (tilt at) an attempt at (winning something).

  — PHRASES (at) full tilt with maximum speed or force. tilt at windmills attack imaginary enemies. with allusion to the story of Don Quixote tilting at windmills, believing they were giants.

  — DERIVATIVES tilter noun.

  — ORIGIN perhaps related to an Old English word meaning unsteady, or perhaps of Scandinavian origin.

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