tightrope B2 Topic:Describing Qualities Also spelled tight-rope US /ˈtaɪtˌɹoʊp/ See IPA manual Freq #24962 Meanings 1 noun A tightly stretched rope or wire on which acrobats perform high above the ground. The acrobat walked slowly along the tightrope without a net. 2 noun A difficult situation in which you must act very carefully. Managers often walk a tightrope between cutting costs and keeping staff happy. 3 verb To walk along a tightrope. She trained for years before she could tightrope across the stage. Thesaurus Word family Forms tightropes Derived forms tightroper Common collocations tightrope walker Noun + noun Etymology AI details From tight + rope. Topics Describing Qualities Actions & Processes External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # tightrope **Type:** Word **Level:** B2 **Part of speech:** noun, verb **IPA (US):** /ˈtaɪtˌɹoʊp/ **Frequency rank:** 24962 ## Meanings 1. A tightly stretched rope or wire on which acrobats perform high above the ground. 2. A difficult situation in which you must act very carefully. 3. To walk along a tightrope. ## Examples - The acrobat walked slowly along the tightrope without a net. - Managers often walk a tightrope between cutting costs and keeping staff happy. - She trained for years before she could tightrope across the stage. ## Derived Forms - tightroper ## Etymology From tight + rope. ## AI Etymology Tightrope is from tight + rope. The surface analysis is tight + rope. In present-day use, it can mean a tightly stretched rope or wire on which acrobats perform high above the ground, or a difficult situation in which you must act very carefully. Derived formations include tightroper. ## Topics - Describing Qualities - Actions & Processes markdown