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tit

1 American  
[tit] / tɪt /

noun

  1. a titmouse.

  2. any of various other small birds.

  3. Archaic. a girl or young woman; hussy.

  4. Archaic. a small or poor horse; nag.


tit 2 American  
[tit] / tɪt /

noun

  1. a teat.

  2. Slang: Vulgar. a breast.


tit 3 American  
[tit] / tɪt /

noun

  1. tit for tat.


tit. 4 American  

abbreviation

  1. title.


Tit. 5 American  

abbreviation

Bible.
  1. Titus.


tit 1 British  
/ tɪt /

noun

  1. slang a female breast

  2. a teat or nipple

  3. derogatory a girl or young woman

  4. slang a despicable or unpleasant person: often used as a term of address

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

tit 2 British  
/ tɪt /

noun

  1. any of numerous small active Old World songbirds of the family Paridae (titmice), esp those of the genus Parus (bluetit, great tit, etc). They have a short bill and feed on insects and seeds

  2. any of various similar small birds

  3. archaic a worthless or worn-out horse; nag

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Tit. 3 British  

abbreviation

  1. Titus

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of tit1

First recorded in 1540–50; short for titmouse ( def. ); akin to Old Norse titlingr “sparrow,” Norwegian tite “titmouse”; see also tit 2

Origin of tit2

First recorded before 1100; Middle English, Old English tit(t) “teat, pap, breast”; cognate with Middle Low German, Middle Dutch titte, German Zitze, Norwegian titta; akin to tit 1; see also teat ( def. )

Origin of tit3

Perhaps variant of tip 4

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

He praised Powell’s avoidance of engaging in tit for tat with the president.

From Barron's Jun. 2, 2026

The culprit: a half-ounce bird called the blue tit.

From The Wall Street Journal May 22, 2026

Researchers plan to continue monitoring the great tit population in Wytham Woods to understand how these weather effects may shift in the future.

From Science Daily Mar. 12, 2026

Among birds, the Japanese tit offers the first experimental evidence for compositional syntax in any non-human species.

From Salon May 29, 2025

The blue tit that had been swinging on a bramble, singing “Heigh ho, go-and-get-another-bit-of-moss,” stopped his acrobatics and flew into the wood.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

It is ordered by the statutes, tit. vi.,—

From Notes and Queries, Number 191, June 25, 1853 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc. by George Bell

Laws regarding the Sangleys.—In lib. vi, tit. xviii.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 22 of 55 1625-29 Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century. by James Alexander Robertson

Various laws on this subject are found in Recopilación leyes de Indias, lib. i, tit. xx; one of these may be found ante, pp.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 28 of 55 1637-38 Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century by Emma Helen Blair

The above two laws are taken from Recopilacion de leyes, lib. viii, tit. xxix.

From History of the Philippine Islands by James Alexander Robertson

See tit. ix of lib. ix, Recopilación de leyes de Indias which treats of the avería, entitled, “Of the tax, administration, and collection of the duty of avería.”

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 27 of 55 1636-37 Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century by James Alexander Robertson

"Rebuke them cuttingly, that they may be sound in the faith," Tit. i.

From The Divine Right of Church Government by Sundry Ministers Of Christ Within The City Of London by

"Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the glory of our great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ," Tit. ii:13.

From Studies in Prophecy by Arno C. Gaebelein

See Ulpian, Tit., xi, 3, 4, and 24.

From A Short History of Women's Rights From the Days of Augustus to the Present Time. with Special Reference to England and the United States. Second Edition Revised, With Additions. by Eugene Arthur Hecker

To speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority, Tit. ii.

From The Divine Right of Church Government by Sundry Ministers Of Christ Within The City Of London by

Thess. ii: 16; "that blessed hope," Tit. ii: 13; "a lively hope," I. Peter i: 3.

From The Life of Jesus Christ for the Young by Richard Newton

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