Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To push or knock over; overturn or topple.
  • intransitive verb To move to a slanting position; tilt: synonym: slant.
  • intransitive verb To touch or raise (one's hat) in greeting.
  • intransitive verb To empty (something) by overturning; dump.
  • intransitive verb To dump (rubbish, for example).
  • intransitive verb To topple over; overturn.
  • intransitive verb To be tilted; slant.
  • noun The act of tipping.
  • noun A tilt or slant; an incline.
  • noun Chiefly British An area or a place for dumping something, such as rubbish.
  • idiom (tip (one's) hand) To reveal one's resources or intentions.
  • idiom (tip the scales) To register weight (at a certain amount).
  • idiom (tip the scales) To offset the balance of a situation.
  • noun The end of a pointed or projecting object.
  • noun A piece or an attachment, such as a cap or ferrule, meant to be fitted to the end of something else.
  • transitive verb To furnish with a tip.
  • transitive verb To cover or decorate the tip of.
  • transitive verb To remove the tip of.
  • transitive verb To dye the ends of (hair or fur) in order to blend or improve appearance.
  • idiom (tip of the iceberg) A small evident part or aspect of something largely hidden.
  • noun A small sum of money given to someone for performing a service; a gratuity.
  • noun A piece of confidential, advance, or inside information.
  • noun A helpful hint.
  • intransitive verb To give a tip to.
  • intransitive verb To give as a tip.
  • intransitive verb To provide with a piece of confidential, advance, or inside information.
  • intransitive verb To give tips or a tip.
  • intransitive verb To strike gently; tap.
  • intransitive verb Baseball To hit (a pitched ball) with the side of the bat so that it glances off.
  • intransitive verb Sports To tap or deflect (a ball or puck, for example), especially in scoring.
  • intransitive verb Sports To deflect or glance off. Used of a ball or puck.
  • intransitive verb Lower Southern US To tiptoe.
  • noun A light blow; a tap.
  • noun Baseball A pitched ball that is tipped.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To throw up (wool or cotton) so that it will fall in bunches
  • noun A horseshoe which covers only the front half of the hoof, with the branches tapered to an edge.
  • noun The upper extremity or top part of anything that is long and slender, tapering, or thin, especially if more or less pointed or rounded: as, the tip of a spire or of a spear; any pointed, tapering, or rounded end or extremity; the outer or exposed termination of anything running to or approximating a point: as, the tip of the tongue; the tips of the fingers; the tip of an arrow (the apex of the arrow-head), of a cigar, or of a pen.
  • noun A small piece or part attached to or forming the extremity of something; an end-piece, an attached point, a ferrule, or the like: as, the iron or copper tips of some shoes; the tip of a scabbard; the tip of a gas-burner; the tip of a stamen (the anther).
  • noun The upper part of the crown of a hat.
  • noun The upper part of the lining of a hat.
  • noun A tool made of pasteboard and long fine hair, used by gilders, as to lay the gold upon the edges of a book; also, a piece of wood covered with Canton flannel, used by book-stampers.
  • noun The separate piece or section of a jointed fishing-rod from the point of which the line runs off the rod through an eye, loop, or ring; a top.
  • noun Same as foothold, 2.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English tippen.]

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English.]

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Origin unknown.]

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From Middle English tippe, a tap, perhaps of Low German origin.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Circa 1225. Not recorded in Old English or Old Norse, but apparently cognate with Dutch tip, East Frisian tip, Danish tip, Swedish tipp. Perhaps cognate with Old English tæppa. Compare Albanian thep ("tip, point").

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Probably from to tip ("give, pass") or to tip ("tap"), or a combination of the two.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Originally thieves' slang, of uncertain orign.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Possibly from Scandinavian, or a special use of Etymology 1.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Of uncertain origin; apparently cognate with Dutch tippen, German tippen, Swedish tippa.

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Examples

  • The lower portion of the sirloin, called the sirloin tip, is used for tip steaks or tip roast, but this is not a common cut in Mexico, and for a sirloin tip roast, order aguayón en trozo.

    Choice Cut Or Mystery Meat? A Guide To Mexican Butcher Shops: Part I - Beef 2008

  • The lower portion of the sirloin, called the sirloin tip, is used for tip steaks or tip roast, but this is not a common cut in Mexico, and for a sirloin tip roast, order aguayón en trozo.

    Choice Cut Or Mystery Meat? A Guide To Mexican Butcher Shops: Part I - Beef 2008

  • Another tip is always carry some arrows with field points while on stand, if you want to shoot some small game to pass the time you don 't need to waste exspensive broadheads.

    Tips 2009

  • Another tip is always carry some arrows with field points while on stand, if you want to shoot some small game to pass the time you don 't need to waste exspensive broadheads.

    Tips 2009

  • The other tip is always to add cold aubergines to very hot oil – never cold oil to hot aubergines.

    Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's aubergine recipes Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall 2010

  • This tip is actually selective since some people find chairs that they just have to use first but generally, it is better to look for the table first.

    11 Inspiring Dining Room Designs From Hulsta 2009

  • To me, a tip is a way of saying - you provided me with a service, thanks for a job well done, the next time I'm here please don't spit in my food/put my eggs on the bottom of the bag/ruin my cuticles.

    Propina, Por Favor 2003

  • To me, a tip is a way of saying - you provided me with a service, thanks for a job well done, the next time I'm here please don't spit in my food/put my eggs on the bottom of the bag/ruin my cuticles.

    Propina, Por Favor 2003

  • I find this label tip to be great as it allows one to accomplish one of the three R's,

    The Dollar Stretcher Featured Content 2010

  • My first thought too, the dief and why I put a title tip on the link to the publisher as a sort of warning if people wanted to avoid commercial promotion.

    Original Signal - Transmitting Buzz 2009

  • Dumping sand or loam from a pail or truck produces in England a tip, from tip cart, but in America it creates only a pile.

    How to Read the Land The MIT Press Reader 2022

Comments

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  • Britlish for garbage dump. Also Americanlish for gratuity for services rendered.

    October 4, 2007

  • Auslish for both.

    July 18, 2008

  • (T)o (I)nsure (P)romptness: acronym behind the name for gratuity at an eatery.

    February 8, 2015

  • Folk etymology on steroids.

    February 10, 2015

  • See the informative essay at World Wide Words.

    February 10, 2015