See tilt at windmills in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
{
"etymology_text": "From a passage in the novel Don Quixote where the eponymous character tilts (i.e. jousts) at windmills that he has mistaken for giants.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "tilts at windmills",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "tilting at windmills",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "tilted at windmills",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "tilted at windmills",
"tags": [
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "fight windmills",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "*",
"head": "tilt at windmills"
},
"expansion": "tilt at windmills (third-person singular simple present tilts at windmills, present participle tilting at windmills, simple past and past participle tilted at windmills)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"related": [
{
"_dis1": "49 51",
"word": "throw one's cap over the windmill"
},
{
"_dis1": "49 51",
"word": "mistake windmills for giants"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [],
"glosses": [
"To attack imaginary enemies."
],
"id": "en-tilt_at_windmills-en-verb-uuGDY1sH",
"links": [
[
"attack",
"attack"
],
[
"imaginary",
"imaginary"
],
[
"enemies",
"enemies"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(intransitive) To attack imaginary enemies."
],
"tags": [
"intransitive"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "97 3",
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"word": "lluïtar contra molins de vent"
},
{
"_dis1": "97 3",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"word": "taistella tuulimyllyjä vastaan"
},
{
"_dis1": "97 3",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"word": "se battre contre des moulins à vent"
},
{
"_dis1": "97 3",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"word": "gegen Windmühlen kämpfen"
},
{
"_dis1": "97 3",
"code": "he",
"lang": "Hebrew",
"roman": "nilchám b'tachanót rúach",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"word": "נִלְחַם בְּטַחֲנוֹת רוּחַ"
},
{
"_dis1": "97 3",
"code": "ga",
"lang": "Irish",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"word": "dul i ngleic le samhailtí"
},
{
"_dis1": "97 3",
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"word": "slåss mot vindmøller"
},
{
"_dis1": "97 3",
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"word": "kjempe mot vindmøller"
},
{
"_dis1": "97 3",
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "walczyć z wiatrakami"
},
{
"_dis1": "97 3",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "borótʹsja s vetrjanými mélʹnicami",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"word": "боро́ться с ветряны́ми ме́льницами"
},
{
"_dis1": "97 3",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "sražátʹsja s vetrjanými mélʹnicami",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"word": "сража́ться с ветряны́ми ме́льницами"
},
{
"_dis1": "97 3",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"word": "luchar contra molinos de viento"
},
{
"_dis1": "97 3",
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"word": "slåss mot väderkvarnar"
},
{
"_dis1": "97 3",
"code": "cy",
"lang": "Welsh",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"word": "ymladd â melinau gwynt"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "23 77",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "40 60",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English predicates",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "17 83",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Entries with translation boxes",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "17 83",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with 1 entry",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "15 85",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with entries",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "24 76",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Catalan translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "24 76",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "27 73",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with French translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "25 75",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with German translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "26 74",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Hebrew translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "26 74",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Irish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "27 73",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "26 74",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Polish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "23 77",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Russian translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "20 80",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "25 75",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "27 73",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Welsh translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To go on a wild-goose chase; to persistently engage in a futile activity."
],
"id": "en-tilt_at_windmills-en-verb-Le~Ph32j",
"links": [
[
"wild-goose chase",
"wild-goose chase"
],
[
"persistently",
"persistently"
],
[
"futile",
"futile"
],
[
"activity",
"activity"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(intransitive, by extension) To go on a wild-goose chase; to persistently engage in a futile activity."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"_dis1": "1 99",
"sense": "go on a wild-goose chase",
"word": "chase a rainbow"
}
],
"tags": [
"broadly",
"intransitive"
]
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"tilting at windmills"
],
"word": "tilt at windmills"
}
{
"categories": [
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English predicates",
"English verbs",
"Entries with translation boxes",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries",
"Terms with Catalan translations",
"Terms with Finnish translations",
"Terms with French translations",
"Terms with German translations",
"Terms with Hebrew translations",
"Terms with Irish translations",
"Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations",
"Terms with Polish translations",
"Terms with Russian translations",
"Terms with Spanish translations",
"Terms with Swedish translations",
"Terms with Welsh translations"
],
"etymology_text": "From a passage in the novel Don Quixote where the eponymous character tilts (i.e. jousts) at windmills that he has mistaken for giants.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "tilts at windmills",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "tilting at windmills",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "tilted at windmills",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "tilted at windmills",
"tags": [
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "fight windmills",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "*",
"head": "tilt at windmills"
},
"expansion": "tilt at windmills (third-person singular simple present tilts at windmills, present participle tilting at windmills, simple past and past participle tilted at windmills)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"related": [
{
"word": "throw one's cap over the windmill"
},
{
"word": "mistake windmills for giants"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English intransitive verbs"
],
"glosses": [
"To attack imaginary enemies."
],
"links": [
[
"attack",
"attack"
],
[
"imaginary",
"imaginary"
],
[
"enemies",
"enemies"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(intransitive) To attack imaginary enemies."
],
"tags": [
"intransitive"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English intransitive verbs"
],
"glosses": [
"To go on a wild-goose chase; to persistently engage in a futile activity."
],
"links": [
[
"wild-goose chase",
"wild-goose chase"
],
[
"persistently",
"persistently"
],
[
"futile",
"futile"
],
[
"activity",
"activity"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(intransitive, by extension) To go on a wild-goose chase; to persistently engage in a futile activity."
],
"tags": [
"broadly",
"intransitive"
]
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"sense": "go on a wild-goose chase",
"word": "chase a rainbow"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"word": "lluïtar contra molins de vent"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"word": "taistella tuulimyllyjä vastaan"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"word": "se battre contre des moulins à vent"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"word": "gegen Windmühlen kämpfen"
},
{
"code": "he",
"lang": "Hebrew",
"roman": "nilchám b'tachanót rúach",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"word": "נִלְחַם בְּטַחֲנוֹת רוּחַ"
},
{
"code": "ga",
"lang": "Irish",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"word": "dul i ngleic le samhailtí"
},
{
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"word": "slåss mot vindmøller"
},
{
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"word": "kjempe mot vindmøller"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "walczyć z wiatrakami"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "borótʹsja s vetrjanými mélʹnicami",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"word": "боро́ться с ветряны́ми ме́льницами"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "sražátʹsja s vetrjanými mélʹnicami",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"word": "сража́ться с ветряны́ми ме́льницами"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"word": "luchar contra molinos de viento"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"word": "slåss mot väderkvarnar"
},
{
"code": "cy",
"lang": "Welsh",
"sense": "attack imaginary enemies",
"word": "ymladd â melinau gwynt"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"tilting at windmills"
],
"word": "tilt at windmills"
}
Download raw JSONL data for tilt at windmills meaning in English (4.2kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-02-26 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-02-21 using wiktextract (ce0be54 and f2e72e5). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.