Definitions

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

  • adjective Slightly intoxicated.
  • adjective Unsteady or crooked.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Overcome with drink so as to stagger slightly; partially intoxicated; fuddled; boozy.
  • Manifesting or characterized by tipsiness; proceeding from or giving rise to inebriation.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Being under the influence of strong drink; rendered weak or foolish by liquor, but not absolutely or completely drunk; fuddled; intoxicated.
  • adjective Staggering, as if from intoxication; reeling.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective slightly drunk, fuddled, staggering, foolish as a result of drinking alcoholic beverages
  • adjective unsteady, askew

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective slightly intoxicated
  • adjective unstable and prone to tip as if intoxicated

Etymologies

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

[From tip.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

tip ("upset") + -s- ("(interconsonantal)") +‎ -y (“quality”). The -s- is for euphony (sound) following a plosive – compare artsy, folksy, and sudsy.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word tipsy.

Examples

  • Chris Libby recalled how his younger brother, Dustin, looked the day he shipped off for boot camp — a kid with scruffy, long hair, still a bit tipsy from the previous night's festivities.

    December 2006 glimpses 2007

  • So I get back from Thane's about 5-ish, still tipsy from the tequila, and figure I'll take a nap, just an hour or two.

    Weird Sleep Schedules archmage 2001

  • Vice-President was drunk -- he stammered out a few broken sentences in tipsy glorification of himself as a "plebeian," to the disgust and shame of all who assisted at the ceremony.

    Foreign and Colonial Intelligence 1865

  • Not that he was in the least "tipsy" -- that low-word applicable only to low people, and not men of property, who have a right to enjoy all the good things of this life.

    Mistress and Maid. A Household Story. 1864

  • Neighbour Joe Peter Martin recalls a tipsy evening of naked wrestling in front of the fire, Jim is laid up with a bad back and Dave and Denise fear their gift of a fridge magnet will be upstaged by Anthony.

    The Independent - Frontpage RSS Feed 2010

  • The beer here is stronger than in the U.S. (about 4. 8\% vs. 3. 4\% in a Bud Light), so it is sort of tricky when you think you haven't had that many drinks but are suddenly pretty tipsy, which is exactly what happened to me last night.

    TravelPod.com Recent Updates 2009

  • We were initially seduced by "tipsy" in the title, but once we tried thirschfeld's recipe, we fell in love with much more than the Jack-Daniels-infused syrup.

    Food52's Best Halloween Treats: Salted Pumpkin Caramels & Tipsy Maple Corn Colin Sterling 2010

  • We were initially seduced by "tipsy" in the title, but once we tried thirschfeld's recipe, we fell in love with much more than the Jack-Daniels-infused syrup.

    Food52's Best Halloween Treats: Salted Pumpkin Caramels & Tipsy Maple Corn The Huffington Post News Team 2010

  • We were initially seduced by "tipsy" in the title, but once we tried thirschfeld's recipe, we fell in love with much more than the Jack-Daniels-infused syrup.

    Food52's Best Halloween Treats: Salted Pumpkin Caramels & Tipsy Maple Corn Colin Sterling 2010

  • If I'm staying in the Hotel from the Shining I want to get drunk not "tipsy". kale

    The Shining at Timberline Lodge | /Film 2008

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.