I. tip ‧ toe 1 /ˈtɪptəʊ $ -toʊ/ BrE AmE noun
on tiptoe/on (your) tiptoes if you stand or walk on tiptoe, you stand or walk on your toes, in order to make yourself taller or in order to walk very quietly:
She stood on tiptoe to kiss him.
II. tiptoe 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle tiptoed , present participle tiptoeing ) [intransitive always + adverb/preposition]
to walk quietly and carefully on your toes, so that nobody hears you:
His mother tiptoed into the room.
I tiptoed along the corridor.
tiptoe around (something) phrasal verb
to try to avoid dealing with a difficult or embarrassing subject or problem:
They were tiptoeing around the delicate subject of money.
• • •
THESAURUS
■ to walk quietly
▪ tiptoe to walk quietly and carefully on your toes because you do not want to make a noise:
I tiptoed out trying not to wake the baby.
▪ creep to walk quietly and slowly because you do not want anyone to see or hear you:
Stella crept up the stairs, hoping not to wake her parents.
▪ sneak to walk quietly so that no-one notices you, especially because you are doing something you should not do:
They sneaked off without paying.
|
I quickly sneaked out to have a cigarette.
▪ pad to walk quietly without wearing shoes – also used about cats and dogs walking quietly:
Michelle got up and padded barefoot down to the kitchen.
|
The cat padded in, asking for her food.