especially 2b noun.tilt 1 (tlt)
v. tilt·ed, tilt·ing, tilts
v.tr.
1. To cause to slope, as by raising one end; incline: tilt a soup bowl; tilt a chair backward.
2.
a. To aim or thrust (a lance) in a joust.
b. To charge (an opponent); attack.
3. To forge with a tilt hammer.
v.intr.
1. To slope; incline. See Synonyms at slant.
2. To favor one side over another in a dispute; lean: "His views tilt unmistakably to the Arab position" William Safire.
3.
a. To fight with lances; joust.
b. To engage in a combat or struggle; fight: tilting at injustices.
n.
1. The act of tilting or the condition of being tilted.
2.
a. An inclination from the horizontal or vertical; a slant: adjusting the tilt of a writing table.
b. A sloping surface, as of the ground.
3.
a. A tendency to favor one side in a dispute: the court's tilt toward conservative rulings.
b. An implicit preference; a bias: "pitilessly illuminates the inaccuracies and tilts of the press" Nat Hentoff.
4.
a. A medieval sport in which two mounted knights with lances charged together and attempted to unhorse one another.
b. A thrust or blow with a lance.
5. A combat, especially a verbal one; a debate.
6. A tilt hammer.
7. New England See seesaw. See Regional Note at teeter-totter.
Idiom:
at full tilt Informal
At full speed: a tank moving at full tilt.
[Middle English tilten, to cause to fall, perhaps of Scandinavian origin.]
tilter n.
tilt 2 (tlt)
n.
A canopy or an awning for a boat, wagon, or cart.
tr.v. tilt·ed, tilt·ing, tilts
To cover (a vehicle) with a canopy or an awning.
[Middle English telte, tent, from Old English teld.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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