stilt

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

• noun Either of a pair of long, slender poles each equipped with a raised footrest to enable the user to walk elevated above the ground.
• noun Any of various tall posts or pillars used as support, as for a dock or building.
• noun Any of several shorebirds of the widely distributed genus Himantopus or the Australian genus Cladorhynchus that have long pink legs, usually black-and-white plumage, and a long slender bill.
• transitive verb To place or raise on stilts.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To raise above the ordinary or normal position or surface, as if by the use of stilts.
• noun A prop used in walking; a crutch.
• noun One of two props or poles, each having a step or stirrup at some distance from the lower end, by means of which one may walk with the feet raised from the ground, and with a longer stride: used for crossing sandy or marshy places, streams, etc., and by children for amusement.
• noun In hydraulic engineering, one of a set of piles forming the back for the sheet-piling of a starling.
• noun The handle of a plow.
• noun In ceramics, a support, generally of iron, used to hold a piece of pottery in the kiln, to allow the fire free access to the bottom of the piece. Also called cockspur and spur (which see).
• noun [Abbr. of stilt-bird.] In ornithology, any bird of the genus Himantopus: so called from the extremely long, slender legs.

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

• transitive verb To raise on stilts, or as if on stilts.
• noun A pole, or piece of wood, constructed with a step or loop to raise the foot above the ground in walking. It is sometimes lashed to the leg, and sometimes prolonged upward so as to be steadied by the hand or arm.
• noun Prov. Eng. A crutch; also, the handle of a plow.
• noun (Zoöl.) Any species of limicoline birds belonging to Himantopus and allied genera, in which the legs are remarkably long and slender. Called also longshanks, stiltbird, stilt plover, and lawyer.
• noun (Zoöl.) the stilt.
• noun (Zoöl.) an American sandpiper (Micropalama himantopus) having long legs. The bill is somewhat expanded at the tip.

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

• noun Either of two poles with footrests that allow someone to stand or walk above the ground; used mostly by entertainers.
• noun A tall pillar or post used to support some structure; often above water.
• noun Any of various wading birds of the genera Himantopus and Cladorhynchus, related to the avocet, that have extremely long legs and long thin bills.
• verb to raise on stilts, or as if on stilts

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

• noun a column of wood or steel or concrete that is driven into the ground to provide support for a structure
• noun one of two stout poles with foot rests in the middle; used for walking high above the ground
• noun long-legged three-toed wading bird of brackish marshes of Australia
• noun long-legged three-toed black-and-white wading bird of inland ponds and marshes or brackish lagoons