stilt
Use Stilt in a sentence
noun
1.
one of two poles, each with a support for the foot at some distance above the bottom end, enabling the wearer to walk with his or her feet above the ground.
2.
one of several posts supporting a structure built above the surface of land or water.
3.
Ceramics. a three-armed support for an object being fired.
4.
any of several white-and-black wading birds, especially Cladorhynchus leucocephalus and Himantopus himantopus, having long, bright pink legs and a long, slender black bill.
5.
British Dialect.
a.
a plow handle.
b.
a crutch.
verb (used with object)
6.
to raise on or as if on stilts.
00:10
Stilt
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is skedaddle. Does it mean:
| to run away hurriedly; flee. |
| to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly. |
Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English stilte; cognate with Low German stilte pole, German Stelze
1275–1325; Middle English stilte; cognate with Low German stilte pole, German Stelze
Related forms
stilt·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To stilt
Collins
World English Dictionary
stilt (stɪlt) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | either of a pair of two long poles with footrests on which a person stands and walks, as used by circus clowns |
| 2. | a long post or column that is used with others to support a building above ground level |
| 3. | any of several shore birds of the genera Himantopus and Cladorhynchus, similar to the avocets but having a straight bill |
| —vb | |
| 4. | (tr) to raise or place on or as if on stilts |
| [C14 (in the sense: crutch, handle of a plough): related to Low German stilte pole, Norwegian stilta] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
stilt
c.1320, "a crutch," from P.Gmc. *steltijon (cf. M.L.G., M.Du. stelte "stilt," O.H.G. stelza "plow handle, crutch"), from PIE *stel- "to put, stand, place, cause to stand" (see stall (1)). Application to "wooden poles for walking across marshy ground, etc." is from c.1440.
Meaning "one of the posts on which a building is raised from the ground" is first attested 1697. Stilted in the fig. sense of "pompous, stuffy" is first recorded 1820.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
The programmers stayed in stilt-raised cabins and had their general sessions in a large, rustic room with a stone fireplace.
The urine of these stilt-legged canids is redolent of marijuana.
Three stilt eggs were found, followed by three stilt chicks which later dropped to two chicks.
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