When something is tilted, it's angled or leaning to one side rather than sitting straight up and down. A tilted picture frame on the wall slopes instead of hanging level. When you tilt your head to the side while thinking hard about a puzzle, you're angling it away from its normal upright position.

The word often describes things that should be straight but aren't. A tilted fence post leans instead of standing vertical. A pinball machine with a sign saying “DO NOT TILT” warns players not to shake or angle the machine to cheat. In medieval times, knights tilted at each other in jousting tournaments, charging with lances pointed forward at an angle toward their opponent.

In games like chess or poker, players sometimes say they're tilted when frustration makes them play badly. When you're tilted in this sense, your judgment is thrown off balance, like a scale that's no longer level. You might make impulsive moves instead of thinking carefully, letting your emotions override your strategy. The tilt isn't physical but mental: your decision-making has been knocked sideways by anger or disappointment.