stealthily; on tiptoe; without making a sound
Describes moving quietly and carefully, often to avoid being noticed. Commonly used with verbs like 歩く or 近づく.
He entered the room stealthily.
I tried to sneak up on tiptoe and surprise them.
From 抜き (nuki, 'pulling out, removing') + 足 (ashi, 'foot, step') + で (de, particle). The phrase literally means 'with a pulling-out step', suggesting a careful, quiet step as if removing the foot from the ground without sound.