Definition of "tip-off" []

• Informal A piece of confidential, advance, or inside information. (noun)
• Informal An indication of an otherwise unknown fact or probability: The judge called for a pitcher of water, a tip-off that the session would be long. (noun)
• Basketball An act of starting play at the beginning of a period with a jump ball. Also called tap-off. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Sticking to his routine before big games at home, James was the first player to arrive and was on the floor more than three hours before tip-off."
• "Another tip-off about her attitude is that later that year, she commissioned a painting of her lord chamberlain by Mr. Mortimer."
• "A number of years ago I saw a play, The Exonerated the title's a tip-off, directed by the multi-talented writer/actor/director/producer Bob Balaban."