Meanings
- idiomaticAt full speed; very quickly.
Don't go racing around corners at full tilt or you'll hit someone.
Synonyms: at full throttle, full tilt boogie
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositional phraseAt full speed; very quickly.
Origin
Recorded c. 1600, perhaps from the interpretation of tilt (“a joust”) as derived from "leaning" into an attack, presumably a folk etymology, as tilt in late Middle English meant “a covering of coarse cloth, an awning” and referred to the barrier separating the combatants in a joust.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek δρόμῳ
- δρόμῳ (drómōi)at full speed
Polish co tchu, ile tchu
- co tchuat full speed
- ile tchuat full speed
Spanish a toda velocidad, a todo tren
- a toda velocidadat full speed
- a todo trenat full speed
Cite this entry
at full tilt. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/at%20full%20tilt
“at full tilt.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/at%20full%20tilt. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “at full tilt,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/at%20full%20tilt.
Source: at full tilt on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.