tilt1

[tilt] /tɪlt/
verb (used with object)
1.
to cause to lean, incline, slope, or slant.
2.
to rush at or charge, as in a joust.
3.
to hold poised for attack, as a lance.
4.
to move (a camera) up or down on its vertical axis for photographing or televising a moving character, object, or the like.
verb (used without object)
5.
to move into or assume a sloping position or direction.
6.
to strike, thrust, or charge with a lance or the like (usually followed by at).
7.
to engage in a joust, tournament, or similar contest.
8.
(of a camera) to move on its vertical axis:
The camera tilts downward for an overhead shot.
9.
to incline in opinion, feeling, etc.; lean:
She's tilting toward the other candidate this year.
noun
10.
an act or instance of tilting.
11.
the state of being tilted; a sloping position.
12.
a slope.
13.
a joust or any other contest.
14.
a dispute; controversy.
15.
a thrust of a weapon, as at a tilt or joust.
16.
(in aerial photography) the angle formed by the direction of aim of a camera and a perpendicular to the surface of the earth.
Idioms
17.
(at) full tilt. full tilt.
18.
tilt at windmills, to contend against imaginary opponents or injustices.
Also, fight with windmills.
Origin
1300-50; Middle English tylten to upset, tumble < Scandinavian; compare dialectal Norwegian tylta to tiptoe, tylten unsteady; akin to Old English tealt unsteady, tealtian to totter, amble, Middle Dutch touteren to sway
Related forms
tiltable, adjective
tilter, noun
British Dictionary definitions for tilt at windmills

tilt1

/tɪlt/
verb
1.
to incline or cause to incline at an angle
2.
(usually intransitive) to attack or overthrow (a person or people) in a tilt or joust
3.
when intr, often foll by at. to aim or thrust: to tilt a lance
4.
(transitive) to work or forge with a tilt hammer
noun
5.
a slope or angle: at a tilt
6.
the act of tilting
7.
(esp in medieval Europe)
  1. a jousting contest
  2. a thrust with a lance or pole delivered during a tournament
8.
an attempt to win a contest
9.
See tilt hammer
10.
full tilt, at full tilt, at full speed or force
Derived Forms
tilter, noun
Word Origin
Old English tealtian; related to Dutch touteren to totter, Norwegian tylta to tiptoe, tylten unsteady

tilt2

/tɪlt/
noun
1.
an awning or canopy, usually of canvas, for a boat, booth, etc
verb
2.
(transitive) to cover or provide with a tilt
Word Origin
Old English teld; related to Old High German zelt tent, Old Norse tjald tent
Word Origin and History for tilt at windmills

tilt

v.

Old English *tyltan "to be unsteady," from tealt "unsteady," from Proto-Germanic *taltaz (cf. Old Norse tyllast "to trip," Swedish tulta "to waddle," Norwegian tylta "to walk on tip-toe," Middle Dutch touteren "to swing"). Meaning "to cause to lean, tip, slope" (1590s) is from sense of "push or fall over." Intransitive sense first recorded 1620s. Related: Tilted; tilting.

n.

"a joust, a combat," 1510s, perhaps from tilt (v.) on the notion of "to lean" into an attack, but the word originally seems to have been the name of the barrier which separated the combatants, which suggests connection with tilt in an earlier meaning "covering of coarse cloth, an awning" (mid-15c.), which is probably from tilt (v.), but perhaps related to or influenced by tent, or it may be from a Germanic source akin to Old English beteldan "to cover." The verb is recorded from 1590s. Hence, also full tilt (c.1600).

"condition of being tilted," 1837, from tilt (v.).

Idioms and Phrases with tilt at windmills

tilt at windmills

Engage in conflict with an imagined opponent, pursue a vain goal, as in Trying to reform campaign financing in this legislature is tilting at windmills. This metaphoric expression alludes to the hero of Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote (1605), who rides with his lance at full tilt (poised to strike) against a row of windmills, which he mistakes for evil giants.