tilt 1
(tĭlt)v. tilt·ed, tilt·ing, tilts
v.tr.1. To cause to slope, as by raising one end; incline:
tilt a soup bowl; tilt a chair backward. See Synonyms at
slant.
2. To cause to be advantageous to one party rather than another: a development that tilted the balance of trade in their favor.
3. a. To aim or thrust (a lance) in a joust.
b. To charge (an opponent); attack.
4. To forge with a tilt hammer.
v.intr.1. To slope; incline: The field tilts toward the river.
2. To have a preference, favor, or be inclined toward something: She recently tilted toward vegetarianism.
3. To be advantageous to one side over another, as in a dispute: "The battle ... was beginning to tilt again in the Confederates' favor" (Stephen W. Sears).
4. a. To fight with lances; joust.
b. To engage in a combat or struggle; fight: tilting at injustices.
n.1. The act of tilting or the condition of being tilted.
2. a. An inclination from the horizontal or vertical; a slant: adjusting the tilt of a writing table.
b. A sloping surface, as of the ground.
3. a. A tendency to favor one side in a dispute: the court's tilt toward conservative rulings.
b. A preference, inclination, or bias: "pitilessly illuminates the inaccuracies and tilts of the press" (Nat Hentoff).
4. a. A medieval sport in which two mounted knights with lances charged together and attempted to unhorse one another.
b. A thrust or blow with a lance.
5. A combat, especially a verbal one; a debate.
6. A tilt hammer.
Idioms: at full tilt At full speed: a tank moving at full tilt.
on tilt In a reckless manner, especially playing poker recklessly after experiencing bad or good luck.
[Middle English tilten, to cause to fall, perhaps of Scandinavian origin.]
tilt′er n.
tilt 2
(tĭlt)n. A canopy or an awning for a boat, wagon, or cart.
tr.v. tilt·ed,
tilt·ing,
tilts To cover (a vehicle) with a canopy or an awning.
[Middle English telte, tent, from Old English teld.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.