a column of wood or steel or concrete that is driven into the ground to provide support for a structure
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one of two stout poles with foot rests in the middle; used for walking high above the ground
<noun.artifact> he was so tall I thought he was on stilts
long-legged three-toed wading bird of brackish marshes of Australia
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long-legged three-toed black-and-white wading bird of inland ponds and marshes or brackish lagoons
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Stilt \Stilt\, n. [OE. stilte; akin to Dan. stylte, Sw. stylta, LG. & D. stelt, OHG. stelza, G. stelze, and perh. to E. stout.] 1. A pole, or piece of wood, constructed with a step or loop to raise the foot above the ground in walking. It is sometimes lashed to the leg, and sometimes prolonged upward so as to be steadied by the hand or arm.
Ambition is but avarice on stilts, and masked. --Landor.
2. A crutch; also, the handle of a plow. [Prov. Eng.] --Halliwell.
3. (Zo["o]l.) Any species of limicoline birds belonging to {Himantopus} and allied genera, in which the legs are remarkably long and slender. Called also {longshanks}, {stiltbird}, {stilt plover}, and {lawyer}.
Note: The American species ({Himantopus Mexicanus}) is well known. The European and Asiatic stilt ({H. candidus}) is usually white, except the wings and interscapulars, which are greenish black. The white-headed stilt ({H. leucocephalus}) and the banded stilt ({Cladorhynchus pectoralis}) are found in Australia.
{Stilt plover} (Zo["o]l.), the stilt.
{Stilt sandpiper} (Zo["o]l.), an American sandpiper ({Micropalama himantopus}) having long legs. The bill is somewhat expanded at the tip.
Stilt \Stilt\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Stilted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Stilting}.] To raise on stilts, or as if on stilts.
Thatcher Edmunds recalls back in the early 1960s when the stilt structures dotting the flats of Biscayne Bay were notorious hangouts for gamblers, boozers and flashy women.