stilt

American  

[stilt] / stɪlt /

noun

1. one of two poles, each with a support for the foot at some distance above the bottom end, enabling the wearer to walk with their feet above the ground.

2. one of several posts supporting a structure built above the surface of land or water.

3. Ceramics. a three-armed support for an object being fired.

4. any of several wading birds with very long pink legs and a long, slender bill, including the black-and-white Cladorhynchus leucocephalus and Himantopus himantopus.

5. British Dialect.

   1. a plow handle.

   2. a crutch.

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verb (used with object)

1. to raise on or as if on stilts.

stilt British  

/ stɪlt /

noun

1. either of a pair of two long poles with footrests on which a person stands and walks, as used by circus clowns

2. a long post or column that is used with others to support a building above ground level

3. any of several shore birds of the genera Himantopus and Cladorhynchus, similar to the avocets but having a straight bill

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verb

1. (tr) to raise or place on or as if on stilts

Other Word Forms

• stiltlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of stilt

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English stilte; cognate with Low German stilte “pole,” German Stelze

Example Sentences

On the opposite side, a ramshackle cabin hovered over the water on wooden stilts.

From Literature

The Jetsons live in the sky above Earth, on houses built on tall stilts.

From The Wall Street Journal

He stood over us, twelve feet tall in spangled top hat and stilts.

From Literature

Over half of it will be elevated -- a major concern for Alexandrians who fear the tree-lined track will be replaced by eyesore concrete stilts.

From Barron's

My family lived in a Midcentury-Modern home with a front balcony on stilts and a large backyard.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• angular
• gangly
• gaunt
• lanky
• rangy
• sinewy
• skinny
• slender
• slim
• sparse
• svelte
• wiry