title

American  

[tahyt-l] / ˈtaɪt l /

noun

titles plural

1. the distinguishing name of a book, poem, picture, piece of music, or the like.

2. a descriptive heading or caption, as of a chapter, section, or other part of a book.

3. title page.

4. a descriptive or distinctive appellation, especially one belonging to a person by right of rank, office, attainment, etc..

   the title of Lord Mayor.

   Synonyms:

   denomination, designation

5. Sports. the championship.

   He won the title three years in a row.

6. an established or recognized right to something.

7. a ground or basis for a claim.

8. anything that provides a ground or basis for a claim.

9. Law.

   1. legal right to the possession of property, especially real property.

   2. the ground or evidence of such right.

   3. the instrument constituting evidence of such right.

   4. a unity combining all of the requisites to complete legal ownership.

   5. a division of a statute, lawbook, etc., especially one larger than an article or section.

   6. (in pleading) the designation of one's basis for judicial relief; the cause of action sued upon, as a contract or tort.

10. Ecclesiastical.

    1. a fixed sphere of work and source of income, required as a condition of ordination.

    2. any of certain Roman Catholic churches in Rome, the nominal incumbents of which are cardinals.

11. Movies, Television. Usually titles.

    1. a subtitle in the viewer's own language.

       an Italian movie with English titles.

    2. any written matter inserted into the film or program, especially the list of actors, technicians, writers, etc., contributing to it; credits.

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adjective

1. of or relating to a title.

   the title story in a collection.

2. that decides a title.

   a title bout.

verb (used with object)

titles, present (3rd person singular) titled, past participle, past titling present participle

1. to furnish with a title; designate by an appellation; entitle.

   Synonyms:

   style, call, term, denominate

title British  

/ ˈtaɪtəl /

noun

1. the distinctive name of a work of art, musical or literary composition, etc

2. a descriptive name, caption, or heading of a section of a book, speech, etc

3. See title page

4. a name or epithet signifying rank, office, or function

5. a formal designation, such as Mr, Mrs, or Miss

6. an appellation designating nobility

7. films

   1. short for subtitle

   2. written material giving credits in a film or television programme

8. sport a championship

9. property law

   1. the legal right to possession of property, esp real property

   2. the basis of such right

   3. the documentary evidence of such right

      title deeds

10. law

    1. the heading or a division of a statute, book of law, etc

    2. the heading of a suit or action at law

11. 1. any customary or established right

    2. a claim based on such a right

12. a definite spiritual charge or office in the church, without appointment to which a candidate for holy orders cannot lawfully be ordained

13. RC Church a titular church

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verb

1. (tr) to give a title to

Usage

What is a title? A title is the distinct name of a creative work, as in The title of the movie was King Kong. A title is also a formal descriptive term given to a person, as in The diplomat made sure to address the duchess using her proper title. A title is also a championship in sports, The team won the title last year and they came into the season ready to defend it. Almost all books, movies, pieces of art, video games, and all other creative works have titles. Their title is the name they are referred to. For example, Of Mice and Men is the title of a book by John Steinbeck. Further divisions of a work, such as chapters of a book or episodes of a TV show, may also have their own titles. Something that doesn’t have a title but is expected to is said to be untitled. Title can be used in this sense as an adjective, like a title story. When used as a verb, it means to give a title to someone or something, as in The songwriter titled his newest work “Sonata 23.”The word title is also a formal term given to a person based on their rank, authority, achievements, or other qualifying reason. A title usually precedes a person’s name and, if so, is capitalized, as with Doctor, Professor, Sergeant, President, and Prime Minister. Finally, a title is also a championship in sports. When used as an adjective in this sense it describes something that decides who gets the title, like a title game. Example: The title of my favorite movie is The Godfather.

Synonym Usage

See name.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• undertitle
  noun
• mistitle
  verb (used with object)
• retitle
  verb (used with object)
• nontitle
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• titles
  plural

Participles

• titling
  present
• titled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• title
  simple
• titles
  simple
• have titled
  perfect
• has titled
  perfect
• am titling
  progressive
• are titling
  progressive
• is titling
  progressive
• have been titling
  perfect progressive
• has been titling
  perfect progressive

Past

• titled
  simple
• had titled
  perfect
• was titling
  progressive
• were titling
  progressive
• had been titling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will title
  simple
• will have titled
  perfect
• will be titling
  progressive
• will have been titling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of title

First recorded before 950; Middle English, variant of titel, Old English titul, from Latin titulus “superscription, title”

Explanation

A title is typically the official part of your name, placed at the beginning to signify a certain status or function. So, do you prefer "Mr.," "Mrs.," "Dr." or "Ms"? Or perhaps you just go by "Grand Pooh-bah"? There seem to be as many ways to use the word title as there are titles on a library shelf — because a title is also what you call a book or song or work of art. Titles are even given to statutes and acts of legislature. When you buy a car, you get a title, which is a piece of paper certifying your ownership. And when your favorite team wins the championship? You often say they won the title — and the right to brag.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

title titles titled titling

Marvel Studios’ president and producer Kevin Feige announced the new title Saturday at the annual fan and industry event.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026

However, for the third year running she came up just short in the final as a first Women's Matchplay title since the inaugural tournament in 2022 continues to elude her.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

The title may be stupefying, but “Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie” is clever and extremely Canadian.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

Another Super Bowl title would draw him even with Lawrence Taylor and Deion Sanders.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026

Maybe I would earn the title after I determined if I’d been born allergic to cleaning or if the aversion had been learned.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

Maeda scored 79 goals in 212 appearances at Celtic, where he won five league titles, three Scottish Cups and two League cups.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

James, the NBA all-time scoring leader and a four-time NBA Most Valuable Player, has won four titles in a 23-year career, most recently with the Los Angeles Lakers.

From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026

Disappointing offerings included such anticipated titles as “Her Private Hell,” Nicolas Winding Refn’s first film in a decade, and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Sheep in the Box.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

Cycling did plenty to earn it in the early 2000s—more than a quarter of the Tours this century have seen the winners stripped of their titles for doping violations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

But when I’d seen those courses in the catalog, and read their titles aloud, I had felt something infinite, and I wanted a taste of that infinity.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

Holder is now distilling hundreds of hours of raw camera footage for a documentary currently titled “Lindsey’s Game,” which he said he wants to release in the coming months.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

“Starlink may bully its way into mobility, but it would take years to acquire and clear the right spectrum,” Wolfe’s Peter Supino wrote in a note to clients titled “Starlink Shmarlink!”

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

Over the weekend, the Academy Museum announced that it will honor Mexican and Mexican American film history in an upcoming exhibition titled “Cinelandia: Celebrating Mexican American Cinema.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

He also tried his hand - or voice - in the music business, releasing a single in 1972 titled It Ain't Easy.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

Her face was buried in a romance novel titled My General Forever, and a large snoring bulldog lay curled in a pile of wrinkled skin at her feet.

From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry

The 28-year-old documented his preparations in the lead-up to Saturday's record attempt, titling his endeavours 'Project 222' in reference to the total number of seconds standing between him and history.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

He posted his microscope photos in a few places online, titling them “the people’s algae.”

From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2026

The selloff sparked colorful reactions, with Daniel O’Regan, Mizuho’s managing director for equity trading, titling his Tuesday note to clients: “Tech Wreck.”

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026

What you “see” is the combined effect of sight and your ear canals telling you that you are titling backwards.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 9, 2026

Then I posted all of it online, titling it: “Trolls in the Dungeon.”

From "Warcross" by Marie Lu

Related Words

• championship
• crown
• medal
• power