Word.ws English Dictionary

tipping the scale

tipping the scale is the present participle and gerund of tip the scale.

Meaning of tip the scale

Verb

tip the scale (third-person singular simple present tips the scale, present participle tipping the scale, simple past and past participle tipped the scale)

  1. (idiomatic, intransitive) To change the fortunes, either positively or negatively.
    • The priest went on to say that God tipped the scales in favor of hope "through the resurrection of our crucified divine brother Jesus."2007, Melannie Svoboda, In Steadfast Love: Letters on the Spiritual Life, page 122
  2. (idiomatic, intransitive) To weigh (have a certain weight).
    • was kindly called to account by the good doctor when her nine-months'-old baby tipped the scales at barely twelve pounds.1917, Mabel Thorp Boardman, Under the Red Cross flag at home and abroad, page 190

Questions about tipping the scale

What is tipping the scale the present participle and gerund of?
Tipping the scale is the present participle and gerund of tip the scale.

Words near tipping the scale in the dictionary

  1. tipping someone's velvet
  2. tipping the balance
  3. tipping the daddle
  4. tipping the double
  5. tipping the gaff
  6. tipping the scale
  7. tipping the scales
  8. tipping the wink
  9. tipping up
  10. tipping-point state
  11. tipping-point states

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: tipping the scale (page history and authors); tip the scale (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “tipping the scale.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/tipping_the_scale. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.