stilt
1 of 2noun
ˈstilt 
1
a
: one of two poles each with a rest or strap for the foot used to elevate the wearer above the ground in walking
b
: a pile or post serving as one of the supports of a structure above ground or water level
2
plural also stilt : any of several very long-legged 3-toed shorebirds (genera Himantopus and Cladorhynchus) that are related to the avocets, frequent inland ponds and marshes, and nest in small colonies
stilt
2 of 2verb
stilted; stilting; stilts
transitive verb
: to raise on or as if on stilts
Example Sentences
Noun a circus performer walking on stilts
Recent Examples on the Web
Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Aug. 2022 Attendees can expect games (eight game tickets are included with the price of admission), stilt-walking performances, a DJ and dancing, and even workshops that will (attempt to) teach you how to juggle. BostonGlobe.com, 28 July 2022 The most notable birding highlights last week — despite the super heat and humidity — were a Mississippi kite in Provincetown, a black-necked stilt and a sandwich tern at Nantucket, and a loggerhead shrike in Orange. BostonGlobe.com, 23 July 2022 Several local businesses and organizations had vendor booths and many different performers, including stilt-walkers, drummers dancers, and Hartford Poet Laureate Frederick-Douglass Knowles II were in attendance. Steve Smith, Hartford Courant, 23 June 2022 The island hosted a calling chuck-will’s-widow near Sesachacha Pond, a black-necked stilt at the Milestone Cranberry Bog, four common ravens between Sconset and Polpis, and two harlequin ducks at Siasconset. BostonGlobe.com, 21 May 2022 Despite being landlocked, the area has a nautical tradition dating back thousands of years, to an era when Neolithic peoples lived in stilt-houses at the edges of lakes and rivers all through Central Europe. Adam Graham, Robb Report, 3 Apr. 2022 Others raced to be the first skaters, the first stilt-walkers, and the first twins to cross the bridge. Gary Kamiya, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 Apr. 2022 In the early 1980s, the Bergdorf Goodman copywriter traded his stylus for the world of satin and stilt-like heels and launched Manolo Blahnik in the United States. Vogue, 17 Sep. 2021 BostonGlobe.com, 31 Aug. 2019 And the ouster of one of the longest-serving stalwarts in the agency shows how far the White House is willing to go toward disrupting NASA and attempting to break through the bureaucracy that many think has stilted its exploration efforts for years. Christian Davenport, Washington Post, 11 July 2019 Yet the dialogue grows increasingly stilted down the stretch, and, as the photographer and his guide, Riley McNutt and Eric Webster offer a limited array of reactions and poses. Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 9 June 2019 Universities like Chicago should enroll students from a variety of backgrounds—even if the academic-bureaucratic conception of diversity now in vogue is stilted and narrow. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 1 July 2018 The participants, including Trump, seemed unusually awkward, their interactions stilted, and their posing over in a matter of seconds. Jackie Calmes, latimes.com, 8 June 2018 Things have always felt stilted between Brianna and Claire, their relationship heavy with a lot of unsaid words. Julie Kosin, Harper's BAZAAR, 9 Oct. 2017 From steel drums to stilt walkers, Trinidad and Tobago provides lively entertainment for the whole family and brings the festive music of the Caribbean to the heart of Harford County. Aegis Staff, The Aegis, 29 May 2018 The language of the documents can be stilted, even bureaucratic. Ruth Franklin, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2018 See More
Noun
The tallest animals in the procession — each operated by a stilt-walking actor-puppeteer fully visible to the audience, are the two 14-foot-tall giraffes. Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Aug. 2022 Attendees can expect games (eight game tickets are included with the price of admission), stilt-walking performances, a DJ and dancing, and even workshops that will (attempt to) teach you how to juggle. BostonGlobe.com, 28 July 2022 The most notable birding highlights last week — despite the super heat and humidity — were a Mississippi kite in Provincetown, a black-necked stilt and a sandwich tern at Nantucket, and a loggerhead shrike in Orange. BostonGlobe.com, 23 July 2022 Several local businesses and organizations had vendor booths and many different performers, including stilt-walkers, drummers dancers, and Hartford Poet Laureate Frederick-Douglass Knowles II were in attendance. Steve Smith, Hartford Courant, 23 June 2022 The island hosted a calling chuck-will’s-widow near Sesachacha Pond, a black-necked stilt at the Milestone Cranberry Bog, four common ravens between Sconset and Polpis, and two harlequin ducks at Siasconset. BostonGlobe.com, 21 May 2022 Despite being landlocked, the area has a nautical tradition dating back thousands of years, to an era when Neolithic peoples lived in stilt-houses at the edges of lakes and rivers all through Central Europe. Adam Graham, Robb Report, 3 Apr. 2022 Others raced to be the first skaters, the first stilt-walkers, and the first twins to cross the bridge. Gary Kamiya, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 Apr. 2022 In the early 1980s, the Bergdorf Goodman copywriter traded his stylus for the world of satin and stilt-like heels and launched Manolo Blahnik in the United States. Vogue, 17 Sep. 2021 Verb
Your ability to move into different situations can be stilted at times. BostonGlobe.com, 31 Aug. 2019 And the ouster of one of the longest-serving stalwarts in the agency shows how far the White House is willing to go toward disrupting NASA and attempting to break through the bureaucracy that many think has stilted its exploration efforts for years. Christian Davenport, Washington Post, 11 July 2019 Yet the dialogue grows increasingly stilted down the stretch, and, as the photographer and his guide, Riley McNutt and Eric Webster offer a limited array of reactions and poses. Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 9 June 2019 Universities like Chicago should enroll students from a variety of backgrounds—even if the academic-bureaucratic conception of diversity now in vogue is stilted and narrow. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 1 July 2018 The participants, including Trump, seemed unusually awkward, their interactions stilted, and their posing over in a matter of seconds. Jackie Calmes, latimes.com, 8 June 2018 Things have always felt stilted between Brianna and Claire, their relationship heavy with a lot of unsaid words. Julie Kosin, Harper's BAZAAR, 9 Oct. 2017 From steel drums to stilt walkers, Trinidad and Tobago provides lively entertainment for the whole family and brings the festive music of the Caribbean to the heart of Harford County. Aegis Staff, The Aegis, 29 May 2018 The language of the documents can be stilted, even bureaucratic. Ruth Franklin, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2018 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English stilte; akin to Old High German stelza stilt
First Known Use
Noun
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Verb
1649, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
stilt
noun
ˈstilt
1
: one of a pair of tall poles each with a high step or loop for the support of a foot used to lift the person wearing them above the ground in walking
2
: a stake or post used as one of the supports of a structure (as a building) above ground or water level
stilts
noun
as in crutches
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- crutches
- stands
- trusses
- struts
- pegs
- bearings
- stakes
- stanchions
- arches
- cantilevers
- foundations
- girders
- posts
- frames
- pillars
- props
- brackets
- pedestals
- pilasters
- columns
- bases
- buttresses
- braces
- mountings
- bolsters
- shores
- mounts
- reinforcements
- spurs
- underpinnings
- supports
- stays
- shorings