# tripping

/ˈtɹɪpɪŋ/ (US) · /tɹˈɪpɪŋ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/tripping
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. losing balance

verb · CEFR A2

to catch your foot on something and almost fall while walking or running.

For teachers: the present participle of 'trip', describing the act of catching one's foot on an obstacle and losing balance.

- He wasn't looking where he was going and ended up tripping over a loose rug.
- Tripping over the uneven pavement, the courier narrowly avoided dropping the fragile package he was carrying.

### 2. acting crazy

adjective · CEFR B2 · Slang · Informal

acting in a strange, foolish, or irrational way.

For teachers: behaving in an irrational, overly emotional, or nonsensical manner. Informal in register.

- You're tripping if you think I'm going to pay fifty dollars for a sandwich.
- His friends told him he was tripping when he suggested quitting his stable job to become a full-time professional gamer without any savings.

Teaching tip: This sense is very common in modern American English to call out someone for being unrealistic or dramatic.

### 3. on drugs

adjective · CEFR C1 · Slang

experiencing the effects of a drug that makes you see or hear things that aren't there.

For teachers: experiencing a drug-induced hallucination or altered state of consciousness.

- The main character in the movie spent the whole night tripping in the desert.
- The medical staff had to calm the patient down because he was tripping on an unknown substance and couldn't follow instructions.

### 4. moving lightly

adjective · CEFR C2 · Literary

moving with quick, light, and graceful steps.

For teachers: characterised by light, nimble, or rhythmic movement, often used in a poetic or descriptive context.

- She moved with a tripping gait across the garden to greet her guests.
- The poet described the tripping rhythm of the stream as it flowed over the smooth river stones.

### 5. the act of stumbling

noun · CEFR B2

the physical act of catching your foot and stumbling.

For teachers: the action of losing one's footing or the event of stumbling over an object.

- The athlete's sudden tripping cost him the lead in the final lap of the race.
- Safety inspectors noted that the tripping of employees was a frequent occurrence due to the poorly maintained warehouse floors.

## Examples

- You are tripping if you think I'm going to pay that much.
- He was totally tripping when he accused me of stealing his phone, but then he found it in his pocket.
- The manager was tripping over a minor typo in the report, acting as if the entire project had been compromised by a single misplaced comma.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.