tipsy
/ˈtɪp.si/adjective
tipsy is spelled T-I-P-S-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,063rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, tipsy means “Slightly drunk, fuddled, staggering, foolish as a result of drinking alcoholic beverages” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in tipsy?
| Letters | 5: T-I-P-S-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,063rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is tipsy?
Tipsy appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,063rd 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 tipsy?
- /ˈtɪp.si/
Tipsy has 2 syllables (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: En-us-tipsy.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of tipsy
- tipsier comparative
- tipsiest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tipsy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
informalslangSlightly drunk, fuddled, staggering, foolish as a result of drinking alcoholic beverages.
- 2
Unsteady, askew.
- 3
informalContaining alcohol.
tipsy apple pie
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tipsy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense slightly drunk:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | éméché, égayé, gris, pompette |
| German | angeheitert, beschwipst, betütert, angetrunken, bedudelt |
| Portuguese | alegre, ligeiramente embriagado, alto, tocado |
| Spanish | achispado, piripi, tiznado, turuleco |
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 tipsy come from?
From tips + -y. Compare artsy, folksy, and sudsy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).