Meaning & use
tightrope walking
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Meanings
noununcountable
The skill or performance of walking along a thin rope or wire stretched high above the ground, keeping balance.
Grammar: Uncountable: tightrope walking is dangerous.
Patterns
- practice tightrope walking
- a tightrope walking act
Tightrope walking requires years of training and perfect balance.
She learned tightrope walking at a circus school.
The crowd gasped during the tightrope walking show.
noununcountablefigurative
The difficult task of handling a risky situation in which a small mistake could cause serious trouble.
Grammar: Used figuratively, often with between: tightrope walking between two angry sides.
Patterns
- tightrope walking between something and something
Negotiating between the two unions felt like tightrope walking.
Running a small business in a recession is constant tightrope walking.
Common combinations
- practice tightrope walking
- He practices tightrope walking in a field behind his house.
- a tightrope walking act
- The circus had a tightrope walking act high above the ring.
- master tightrope walking
- It takes years to master tightrope walking.
- professional tightrope walking
- Professional tightrope walking is rare today.
- like tightrope walking
- Managing both families at the wedding was like tightrope walking.
Synonyms and how they differ
- funambulism
- Funambulism is a rare, formal word for the same skill; tightrope walking is the normal everyday term.
- high-wire act
- A high-wire act can include other tricks on a wire, while tightrope walking is specifically walking along it.
- balancing act
- A balancing act is mainly figurative and does not involve a rope at all.
Word family
- tightrope noun
- the rope or wire used
- tightrope walker noun
- a person who performs this skill
- walk verb
- to move on foot
Commonly confused: tightrope walking or slacklining?
tightrope walking vs slacklining
Slacklining uses a loose, bouncy strap close to the ground, while tightrope walking uses a tight rope or wire, usually higher up.
Practice
The circus performer is famous for ___ across a wire between two buildings.
Choose one answer.
Walking along a wire to keep balance is tightrope walking. Juggling and climbing involve different skills and do not describe crossing a wire.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “tightrope walking”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.