tip

Noun

tip (plural tips)

1. The extreme end of something, especially when pointed; e.g. the sharp end of a pencil. [from 15th c.]

   Synonym: extremity

   the tip of one's nose

   • 1848, Anne Bronte, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall:

     When he woke up, about half an hour after, he called it to him again, but Dash only looked sheepish and wagged the tip of his tail.

   • 2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52:

     From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. […]   But viewed from high up in one of the growing number of skyscrapers in Sri Lanka’s capital, it is clear that something extraordinary is happening: China is creating a shipping hub just 200 miles from India’s southern tip.

2. A piece of metal, fabric or other material used to cover the top of something for protection, utility or decoration. [from 15th c.]

   a tip for an umbrella, a shoe, a gas burner, etc.

3. (music) The end of a bow of a stringed instrument that is not held.
4. (chiefly in the plural) A small piece of meat.

   chicken tips over rice, pork tips, marinated alligator tips

   • 1998, Alan Morris, “Between Earth and Sky”, in Guardians of the North, book 4; →ISBN:

     He dutifully speared a beef tip and chewed it with false gusto.

5. A piece of stiffened lining pasted on the inside of a hat crown.
6. A thin, boarded brush made of camel's hair, used by gilders in lifting gold leaf.
7. Synonym of eartip (“part of earbuds”)

Verb

tip (third-person singular simple present tips, present participle tipping, simple past and past participle tipped)

1. (transitive) To provide with a tip; to cover the tip of. [from 15th c.]
   • 1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, (please specify the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)]:

     I thinke he thinkes vpon the sauage bull: / Tush, feare not man, wee'll tip thy hornes with gold, / And all Europa shall reioyce at thee [...].

   • 1662 (indicated as 1663), [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]. Canto I.”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678, →OCLC; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, 1905, →OCLC:

     truncheon tipped with iron head

   • a. 1749 (date written), James Thomson, “Winter”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, →OCLC:

     The furry nations harbour-tipt with jet, / Fair ermines spotless as the snows they press.

   • 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

     It was on the break - the moon shone on its crest and tipped its foam with light.

Verb

tip (third-person singular simple present tips, present participle tipping, simple past and past participle tipped)

1. (ergative) (To cause) to become knocked over, fall down or overturn. [(transitive) From early 14th c.] [(intransitive) From earlier 16th c.]
2. (ergative) (To cause) to be, or come to be, in a tilted or sloping position; (to cause) to become unbalanced. [from 17th c.]
   • 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:

     the brief suspended agony of the boat, as it would tip for an instant on the knife-like edge of the sharper waves, that almost seemed threatening to cut it in two […]

   • 2019, Sabrina Lawreniuk, “‘Hun Sen Won’t Die, Workers Will Die’: The Geopolitics of Labour in the Cambodian Crackdown”, in Dog Days: Made in China Yearbook 2018‎, ANU Press, page 217b:

     There is little chance that the EU’s watchdogs have, until now, simply missed the evidence of a deeper malaise. The red flags signalling a democratic deficit have always been prominent: from the long-standing harassment, detention, and assassination of peaceful human rights defenders like Chea Vichea, Chut Wutty, and Tep Vanny, to ratcheting up efforts to deter civil society organisation through dubious, hostile legislation. More likely, the trade-offs between popular power and stability have been weighed by the EU and accepted, where these have tipped in its favour—in this case, shoring up a regional ally and trading partner, as well as delivering rapid rates of economic growth that have won Cambodia middle-income status, thus serving up a ready exemplar of neoliberal development logic.

3. To cause the contents of a container to be emptied out by tilting it.
   • 1941 June, “Notes and News: The Derelict Glyn Valley Tramway”, in Railway Magazine, page 278:

     The workshop with its smithy is still intact, also the loading stage where the narrow-gauge wagons tipped their contents into those of the G.W.R.

4. (transitive, slang, dated) To drink. [from 18th c.]
5. (transitive) To dump (refuse). [from 19th c.]
6. (US, transitive) To pour a libation or a liquid from a container, particularly from a forty of malt liquor. [from 20th c.]
   • 1993, DRS, Gangsta Lean (This Is For My Homies):

     I tip my 40 to your memory.

7. (transitive) To deflect with one′s fingers, especially one′s fingertips.
   • 2011 September 28, Jon Smith, “Valencia 1 - 1 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport‎:

     Lampard was replaced by Kalou but the substitute immediately gave the ball to Jonas, whose 25-yard curler was tipped wide by Cech.

Noun

tip (plural tips)

1. (skittles, obsolete) The knocking over of a skittle. [from 17th c.]
2. An act of tipping up or tilting. [from 19th c.]
3. (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) An area or a place for dumping something, such as rubbish or refuse, as from a mine; a heap (see tipple); a dump. [from 19th c.]
   • 1972 May 18, Jon Tinker, Must we waste rubbish?, New Scientist, page 389,

     As the tip slowly squashes under its own weight, bacteria rot away the organic matter, mainly anaerobically with the generation of methane.

   • 2009, Donna Kelly, 'Don't dump on Hepburn's top tip', The Hepburn Advocate, Fairfax Digital

     When I was a kid I used to love going to the tip.

   • 2009, Rother District Council, Rother District Council Website‎:

     There are two rubbish tips in Rother.

   • 2009, Beck Vass, 'Computer collectibles saved from the tip' The New Zealand Herald, Technology section, APN Holdings NZ Ltd

     Computer collectibles saved from the tip

4. (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) Rubbish thrown from a quarry.
5. (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, by extension) A recycling centre.
6. (colloquial) A very untidy place. [from 20th c.]
7. The act of deflecting with one's fingers, especially the fingertips
   • 2011 October 1, Phil McNulty, “Everton 0 - 2 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport‎:

     As a frenetic opening continued, Cahill - whose robust approach had already prompted Jamie Carragher to register his displeasure to Atkinson - rose above the Liverpool defence to force keeper Pepe Reina into an athletic tip over the top.

8. A tram for expeditiously transferring coal.

Verb

tip (third-person singular simple present tips, present participle tipping, simple past and past participle tipped)

1. (now rare) To hit quickly and lightly; to tap. [from late 15th c.]
   • 1708, Squire Bickerstaff Detected, John Partridge:

     A third rogue tips me by the elbow.

Noun

tip (plural tips)

1. (now rare) A light blow or tap. [from late 16th c.]

Verb

tip (third-person singular simple present tips, present participle tipping, simple past and past participle tipped)

1. To give a small gratuity to, especially to an employee of someone who provides a service. [from early 18th c.]

   You should always tip your waiter in the United States and most third world countries.

   • 1950 April, Timothy H. Cobb, “The Kenya-Uganda Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 263:

     Hire of bedding, and food in the restaurant cars is cheap, and passengers are officially encouraged not to tip company's servants—but they do.

   • 1964, Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 156:

     “Did you tip him enough to do any good? They only work for tips.”
     “I didn’t know that,” I said. “I thought the hotel paid them something on the side.”
     “I mean they will only do something for you for a substantial tip. Most of them are rotten clean through.”

2. (thieves′ slang) To give, pass. [from early 17th c.]

Noun

tip (plural tips)

2. A gratuity; a small amount of money left for a bartender, waiter, taxi driver or other servant as a token of appreciation. [from mid-18th c.]

   Workers in the American service industry usually depend on tips to even make minimum wage.

   • 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, New York, N.Y.: Modern Library, →OCLC:

     A half crown tip put the deputy's knowledge at my disposal, and I learned that Mr. Bloxam [...] had left for his work at five o'clock that morning.

   • 1964, Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast, page 156:

     “Did you tip him enough to do any good? They only work for tips.”
     “I didn’t know that,” I said. “I thought the hotel paid them something on the side.”
     “I mean they will only do something for you for a substantial tip. Most of them are rotten clean through.”

   • 2022 December 14, David Turner, “The Edwardian Christmas getaway...”, in RAIL, number 972, page 35:

     Tips were an important part of porters' income, and at Christmas passengers felt there was extra pressure to give them - despite some perceiving the level of service to be poor.

Noun

tip (plural tips)

1. A piece of private or secret information, especially imparted by someone with expert knowledge about sporting odds, business performance etc. [from mid-19th c.]

   hot stock tips

2. A piece of advice.

   tips and tricks

3. (Australia) A prediction or bet about the outcome of something.
   • 2019 July 4, Stirling Coates, “The Roar's AFL expert tips and predictions: Round 16”, in The Roar‎:

     Thus, this is a tricky tip; Port’s inconsistency combined with the higher ladder placing of Adelaide have me leaning the latter’s way.

   • 2012 June 27, Ian Macdonald, “Tax Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No. 2) Bill 2012, Pay As You Go Withholding Non-compliance Tax Bill 2012”, in parliamentary debates (Australian House of Representatives)‎:

     My guess, Senator Bernardi, is that Mr Rudd will take over. He will immediately say: 'I made a mistake on the carbon tax. We're not going to introduce it and we will go to an election.' There is my tip.

   • 2016 June 29, “AFL tipping 2016: round 15 Expert tips from Herald Sun”, in Herald Sun‎:

     Another bye round, another dose of Thursday night footy and that means you have to get your tips in early.

Verb

tip (third-person singular simple present tips, present participle tipping, simple past and past participle tipped)

1. To give a piece of private information to; to inform (someone) of a clue, secret knowledge, etc. [from late 19th c.]
   • 1987 October 1, Charles W. Murdock, “Heard It Through the Grapevine: The Future of Insider-Trading Laws”, in ABA Journal‎, volume 73, number 12, pages 104 of 100–108:

     Dirks was an investment analyst who learned from a former employee of Equity Funding that the company had been fraudulently manufacturing insurance policies. Dirks tipped several institutions which then liquidated $16 million in Equity Funding stock before the fraud was exposed and the bottom fell out of the market. According to the Court, Dirks was a hero for (eventually) exposing the fraud. The SEC's censure of Dirks for tipping inside information was reversed because, the Supreme Court held, the liability of a tippee derives from that of the tipper. If the tipper is without sin, so is the tippee. Here, the employee's purpose in informing Dirks was to expose the fraud, so the tipper breached no duty. Moreover, according to the Court, for there to be a breach of duty, there must be personal benefit (in the form of pecuniary gain or reputational benefit that will translate into future earnings) arising to the tipper from the disclosure.

   • 1996, Donald C. Langevoort, “The Reform of Joint and Several Liability Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Proportionate Liability, Contribution Rights and Settlement Effects”, in The Business Lawyer‎, volume 51, number 4, The American Bar Association, pages 1163 of 1157–1175:

     In rare instances, the provision logically could apply to the private right of action given to contemporaneous traders to recover for insider trading (e.g., a case where an insider tipped an associate about some forthcoming corporate event, and the tippee was found liable based on recklessness).

   • 2007, Paul Irvine, Marc Lipson, Andy Puckett, “Tipping”, in The Review of Financial Studies‎, volume 20, number 3, pages 755 of 741–768:

     If the institutional trading patterns we observe are a result of tipping, rather than precipitated by some other event, then we should see only a slight increase in the number of institutions active in the market (tipping would precipitate entry by, at most, the few institutions that were tipped). At the same time, given the nature of the reports, we should see an increase in the average buying activity of institutions (we cannot identify the specific institutions that were tipped, so we can only look at averages) and see little change in selling.

2. (Australia) To predict or bet on something having a particular outcome.
   • 2022 May 5, Tim Miller, “The Roar's AFL expert tips and predictions: Round 8”, in The Roar‎:

     The rest of Saturday’s game have tantalising opportunities for upsets – but I’m going to tip conservatively.

   • 2019 April 27, John Pesutto, “Austere pay rises would conflict with case for a 'living wage'”, in The Age‎:

     I'm tipping that, although complex accounting treatments tend to separate capital items and recurrent programs and impede overall visibility, there are significant overspends across the infrastructure portfolio.

   • 2022 September 4, Dominic McGrath, “Truss tipped to win UK leadership race”, in The Canberra Times‎:

     Liz Truss is widely tipped to defeat rival Rishi Sunak to become the new British prime minister.

Noun

tip (plural tips)

1. (African-American Vernacular) A kick or phase; one's current habits or behaviour.
2. (African-American Vernacular) A particular arena or sphere of interest; a front.

Declension

Derived terms

• atipar
• fer-se un tip

Noun

tip

1. tip (gratuity)
2. tip; tip-off

Verb

tip

1. to tip (give a small gratuity)
2. to tip off (inform someone confidentially)

Noun

tip

1. lottery tip sheet

Declension

Derived terms

Noun

tip m (plural tippen, diminutive tipje n)

1. tip, extreme end of something

   Synonyms: eind, einde, end, punt, uiteinde

Noun

tip m (plural tips, diminutive tipje n)

1. tip, small amount of money left for a waiter, taxi driver, etc. as a token of appreciation

   Synonym: fooi

2. filter, for a joint
3. hint, tip
4. tip, piece of good advice

Verb

tip

1. inflection of tippen:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative

Declension

Declension

Synonyms

• prototip (1)
• fel (2)

Declension

Inflection

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Derived terms

Declension