ˈtip-off BrE AmE noun [countable]
1 . informal a secret warning or piece of information, especially one given to the police about illegal activities:
The arrests came after a tip-off from a member of the public.
2 . American English informal something that shows you that something is true, even though you did not expect it to be true:
The fact that he hasn’t called should be a tip-off that he’s not interested.
3 . the beginning of a ↑ basketball game, when the ball is thrown into the air and two players jump up to try to gain control of it
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THESAURUS
▪ warning something that you say or do to tell people about danger, or to tell them not to do something:
All cigarette packets carry a government health warning.
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She ignored her parents' warnings.
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The army issued a warning that anyone who was out on the streets after dark was likely to be shot.
▪ caution formal an official warning or a piece of advice telling you to be careful:
Caution: do not install electrical equipment near or around water sources.
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The video begins with a caution that you must do some warm-up exercises first.
▪ tip-off informal a warning that someone is about to do something, especially one given to the police about a crime:
Police were called to the hotel after a tip-off.
▪ alert a warning to be ready for possible danger that may happen soon:
Twelve flood alerts have been issued to areas along the River Severn.
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a fire alert
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The ambulance services were on red alert (=they were ready to take action immediately) .
▪ advisory formal an official warning or notice that gives information about a dangerous situation:
The air pollution gets so bad on some days that health advisories are posted at park entrances.
▪ caveat formal a warning that something may not be completely true, effective etc. Also used when pointing out that it is important to remember something:
The woman was offered treatment, but with the caveat that it had only a 30% chance of success.
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One caveat is that you must take the goods back to the shop within 14 days.
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There is one important caveat to this argument.