stilt

1 of 2

noun

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 2

verb

stilted; stilting; stilts

transitive verb

: to raise on or as if on stilts

Examples of stilt in a Sentence

Noun a circus performer walking on stilts
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
It would be built on concrete caissons, similar to stilts commonly seen in East Coast coastal communities, to allow seawater to wash under the home, according to the plans submitted to the Coastal Commission. Laylan Connelly, Orange County Register, 25 Feb. 2024 These wooden party places grace the bay, with stilts planted in the bottom. Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 5 Feb. 2024 Barbuda Cottages has eight villas perched on stilts over the sugar-white sands at Coral Group Bay, a crescent beach that’s often empty. Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon, Travel + Leisure, 4 Feb. 2024 To take samples from the stilts and spikes, archaeologists had to don scuba diving gear and swim down to them. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Aug. 2023 People walk on stilts to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Chengguan town, Hua County, Anyang city, in Henan province, China, on Feb. 24, 2024. TIME, 24 Feb. 2024 There were men on stilts and women carrying three-foot floral arrangements in baskets on their heads. Flora Stubbs, Travel + Leisure, 5 Feb. 2024 This time builders put the hotel on 13-foot stilts and made the rooms out of shipping containers with hurricane-grade windows to keep the hotel from being wiped out again. Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 5 Feb. 2024 In 2011, my husband and I moved into our first home, a small beach shack atop wooden stilts a few blocks off the beach in South Carolina. Sara Novak, Discover Magazine, 27 Dec. 2023
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

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stilt.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of stilt was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near stilt

Cite this Entry

“Stilt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stilt. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

stilt

noun
ˈstilt
1
: one of two poles each with a rest or strap for the foot used to elevate the wearer above the ground in walking
2
: a stake or post used to support a structure above ground or water level

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