How to Use tip-off in a Sentence

tip-off

noun
  • Size This is the biggest tip-off, as elk are way bigger.
    Scott Bestul, Field & Stream, 28 Sep. 2023
  • The crowd appears light on television for the midweek 9 p.m. ET tip-off.
    Mike Rodak | Mrodak@al.com, al, 22 Feb. 2023
  • Expect an intense and closely fought game from tip-off to the final buzzer.
    Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 2 June 2023
  • The big game with the Celtics certainly didn’t feel that way at tip-off, not with James and Davis having been ruled out earlier in the day.
    Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 2 Feb. 2024
  • Now fans are racing on Monday to select their very-best bracket ahead of tip-off this week.
    USA TODAY, 18 Mar. 2024
  • The tip-off to a tree like this is the ancillary sign nearby; look for droppings, rubs, scrapes, and kicked up leaves and grass left by feeding deer.
    Scott Bestul, Field & Stream, 20 July 2023
  • Shaver didn’t miss this game, honored before tip-off for Senior Night.
    San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Feb. 2023
  • The men’s tip-off for the Final Four doesn’t happen until Saturday, but the women’s games start tonight.
    Chris Morris, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2024
  • Turner's back has been an issue for much of the season, going back to Jan. 11 when he was scratched from the lineup just before tip-off with back spasms.
    Dustin Dopirak, The Indianapolis Star, 30 Mar. 2023
  • According to Fox News, a moment of silence for Keith was held prior to tip-off.
    Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 8 Feb. 2024
  • What was a five-point deficit at the break for Fearne’s team ballooned to 18 points in the game’s final moments, to the dismay of what had been a raucous Halton Arena at tip-off.
    Hunter Bailey, Charlotte Observer, 2 Mar. 2024
  • The daily schedule posted on the video boards in the Sox clubhouse had the times for lunch, chapel, when the pitchers would toss, the pregame hitters meeting, and tip-off for the Sixers-Celtics Game 7 across town.
    Peter Abraham, BostonGlobe.com, 14 May 2023
  • Randle out: Both teams were without starters, with the Knicks confirming an hour prior to tip-off that Randle was out with a sprained ankle.
    Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 30 Apr. 2023
  • One obvious tip-off: The chatbots fabricated quotes that were not in the novels assigned in class.
    Natasha Singer, New York Times, 24 Aug. 2023
  • Elk vs Deer Antlers This is another sure tip-off, as the headgear worn by the males of each species look drastically different.
    Scott Bestul, Field & Stream, 28 Sep. 2023
  • He was upgraded to questionable for Tuesday’s matchup against the Warriors before he was ruled out for the contest just a few hours prior to tip-off.
    Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2024
  • Fans packed into downtown hours before tip-off, sporting purple garb head to toe and chanting their city’s name in unison.
    Reis Thebault, Washington Post, 17 Apr. 2023
  • Thirty minutes before tip-off, the Warriors announced that Looney was not feeling well, but was still expected to play.
    C.j. Holmes, San Francisco Chronicle, 4 May 2023
  • Back in the familiar role, going through pregame introductions and playing next to Steph Curry from the tip-off, Thompson dropped a game-high 28 points and hit six of 14 shots from behind the arc.
    Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2024
  • Sunday's women's Elite Eight game took a curious twist before tip-off when officials discovered the 3-point lines weren't the same distance on both sides of the court.
    USA TODAY, 1 Apr. 2024
  • Nearly eight months later, Jackson and the 49ers are having a season that no one saw coming before tip-off back in November.
    Hunter Bailey, Charlotte Observer, 16 Feb. 2024
  • Rapid-response units of WGA members mobilize to picket at studio gates and at location shoot sites based on tip-offs.
    Katie Kilkenny, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 May 2023
  • Before tip-off, the Mountain West championship and Final Four banners will be unveiled.
    Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Oct. 2023
  • This energy-efficient Electric Heater heats up to 70°F in just two seconds, has a fireproof structure, and has a tip-off feature that keeps it safer around kids and pets.
    Hannah Rice, Rolling Stone, 13 Dec. 2023
  • Before tip-off, Russell let Laker legend Jerry West know that those balloons would be staying in those rafters.
    Shannon Carlin, Time, 4 Aug. 2023
  • With all day to wait before the 8:30 p.m. PDT tip-off Saturday, players stayed relaxed in the morning by watching other tournament games.
    Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2023
  • Though Queen Charlotte‘s premiere ends a wedding, the fact that the series has five more hours to fill should be an obvious tip-off that the couple are headed for bigger challenges than merely getting to the altar.
    Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 May 2023
  • These patterns can arise from cameras and video processing software, and any inconsistencies that appear are a tip-off that a video has been altered.
    IEEE Spectrum, 11 Dec. 2019
  • The Cleveland Heights natives were celebrated before tip-off.
    Natasha Dye, Peoplemag, 6 Mar. 2024
  • The influence of Linda Blair’s famous spider walk from The Exorcist can be seen in some of the movement, and the title is a tip-off to the creepy-crawly creatures the house’s clandestine resident has been studying to hone its lethality.
    David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 July 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tip-off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: