tilt
/tɪlt/verb, noun
tilt is spelled T-I-L-T: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 4.6 times per million words in written English, the 11,870th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, tilt means “To slope or incline (something); to slant” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in tilt?
| Letters | 4: T-I-L-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.6 times per million words; the 11,870th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is tilt?
Tilt appears 4.6 times per million words in written English, the 11,870th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce tilt?
- US /tɪlt/
Tilt has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-I_learned_some_phrases-tilt.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with tilt?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as tilt from its last stressed vowel (/ɪlt/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of tilt
- tilts present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- tilting participle, present
- tilted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tilt mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To slope or incline (something); to slant.
Tilt the barrel to pour out its contents.
- 2
To be at an angle.
- 3
To charge (at someone) with a lance.
- 4
To point or thrust a weapon at.
- 5
To point or thrust (a weapon).
- 6
To forge (something) with a tilt hammer.
to tilt steel in order to render it more ductile
- 7
To intentionally let the ball fall down to the drain by disabling flippers and most targets, done as a punishment to the player when the machine is nudged too violently or frequently.
- 8
slangTo enter a state of frustration and worsened performance resulting from a series of losses.
- 9
To cover with a tilt, or awning.
noun
- 1
A slope or inclination.
- 2
The inclination of part of the body, such as backbone, pelvis, head, etc.
- 3
The controlled vertical movement of a camera, or a device to achieve this.
- 4
A jousting contest. (countable)
- 5
An attempt, run, or bid for something; commonly with a sense of bold defiance or against steep odds.
He made a tilt at public office
- 6
A thrust, as with a lance.
- 7
A tilt hammer.
- 8
A penalty triggered when a player physically shakes, lifts, or bangs a pinball machine too violently in an attempt to influence the path of the ball.
- 9
A canvas covering for carts, boats, etc.
- 10
Any covering overhead; especially, a tent.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate tilt?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of tilt: PTZ.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tilt in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | neigen, kippen |
| Portuguese | inclinar , inclinação |
| Spanish | ladear, ladearse, inclinar , inclinación , tiltearse |
| French | inclinaison |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does tilt come from?
From Middle English tilte, from Old English *tyltan, *tieltan (“to be unsteady”), related to the adjective tealt (“unsteady”), from Proto-West Germanic *talt, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *del-, *dul- (“to shake, hesitate”), see also Dutch touteren (“to tremble”), North Frisian talt, tolt (“unstable, shaky”). Cognate with Icelandic tölt (“an ambling pace”). The nominal sense of "a joust" appears around 1510, presumably derived from the barrier which separated the combatants, which suggests connection with tilt "covering".
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).