tilt (redirected from tilter)

at full speed and at full tilt; at full throttle

as fast as possible. The motor was running at full speed. John finished his running at full tilt. When the horse reached the back stretch he was at full throttle.

See also: full, speed

tilt something back

to move something so it leans back. Alice tilted her chair back and nearly fell over. She tilted back her chair and relaxed.

See also: back

tilt at windmills

Fig. to fight battles with imaginary enemies; to fight against unimportant enemies or issues. (As with the fictional character, Don Quixote, who attacked windmills.) Aren't you too smart to go around tilting at windmills? I'm not going to fight this issue. I've wasted too much of my life tilting at windmills.

tilt to something

to lean or slant toward something or in a particular direction. The picture tilts to the left. Her head was tilted to the left because she was trying to see around the corner.

tilt toward someone or something 

1. Lit to lean toward someone or something. The table is tilting toward Roger. The old shed tilted toward the west.

2. Fig. to favor choosing someone or something; to lean toward doing something. I am tilting toward Roger for my assistant. I am tilting toward the red car, not the black one.

See also: toward

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(at) full pelt/steam/tilt  (informal)

as fast as possible He was going full pelt down the motorway but he still didn't make it to the airport in time.

See also: full, pelt

tilt at windmills  (literary)

to waste time trying to deal with enemies or problems that do not exist We're not tilting at windmills here. If we don't do something about these problems, our environment may be in serious danger.

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(at) full tilt

as fast or hard as possible In order to produce more new cars, factories are running at full tilt. Bill left the house late, as he usually does, and had to run full tilt to catch his train.

See also: full