twitter
verb (used without object)
to utter a succession of small, tremulous sounds, as a bird.
[twit-er]
/ ˈtwɪt ər /
verb (used without object)
-
twitters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
twittered,
past participle, past
-
twittering
present participle
-
to utter a succession of small, tremulous sounds, as a bird.
-
to talk lightly and rapidly, especially of trivial matters; chatter.
-
to titter; giggle.
-
to tremble with excitement or the like; be in a flutter.
-
Digital Technology. tweet.
verb (used with object)
-
twitters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
twittered,
past participle, past
-
twittering
present participle
Twitter
2
American
Trademark.
twitter
1
British
/ ˈtwɪtə /
verb
-
(intr) (esp of a bird) to utter a succession of chirping sounds
-
(intr) to talk or move rapidly and tremulously
-
(intr) to giggle
her schoolmates twittered behind their desks
-
(tr) to utter in a chirping way
noun
-
a twittering sound, esp of a bird
-
the act of twittering
-
a state of nervous excitement (esp in the phrase in a twitter )
Twitter
2
British
/ ˈtwɪtə /
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
twittersimple
-
twitterssimple
-
have twitteredperfect
-
has twitteredperfect
-
am twitteringprogressive
-
are twitteringprogressive
-
is twitteringprogressive
-
have been twitteringperfect progressive
-
has been twitteringperfect progressive
Past
-
twitteredsimple
-
had twitteredperfect
-
was twitteringprogressive
-
were twitteringprogressive
-
had been twitteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of twitter
1325–75; Middle English twiteren (v.); akin to German zwitschern
Explanation
To twitter is to make a sound like a bird's trill or chirp. One of the nicest things about spring is the sound of birds as they twitter in the trees. Tweet tweet! When birds twitter, they make a staccato, musical chirping sound. You can call this sound itself a twitter too. Sometimes the word is used to describe a similar sound made by chattering humans. In the fourteenth century, the word was twiteren, developed from an imitation of the sound that twittering birds make. Twitter is also a social media website founded in 2006, on which people post 140-character bursts of information called tweets. Wonder where they got that idea.
Vocabulary lists containing twitter
"Terrible Things"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Lois Duncan (1934-2016) Tribute List
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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:
“You dare block me on twitter... see my next move,” said one.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2024
“LD check twitter asap,” Magee texted Donovan, “and prob fire your barber.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2024
This month, novelist Daniel Torday posted, “This space has become almost as unusable as twitter was. I’m out.”
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 29, 2024
“And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds,” Musk posted on the site.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 24, 2023
Nearby, across the river, a lark had begun to twitter and climb.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
So it wasn’t surprising that his damage control came quickly and at length in a Twitter essay the following morning.
From Slate ● Nov. 7, 2026
In 2014, Burnham, then the shadow health secretary, posted on Twitter in support of Brand following allegations about the comedian's housing arrangements.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
Binance invested $500 million in X, then Twitter, back in 2022 as part of Musk’s takeover of the company, which was acquired by SpaceX earlier this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Engineers from his companies were seconded over to X, formerly Twitter, after Musk bought the social media platform in 2022.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
Either way, I fill her in on everything I already searched for on Twitter.
From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
Looking like a miniature killer whale, it twitters in flight.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 16, 2020
We startle a chunky little woodcock that's sheltering in the long grass and it twitters its indignation shrilly.
From BBC ● Jan. 2, 2020
He listened carefully for what Japanese teachers call children’s twitters — mumbled nuggets of inchoate thoughts that teachers can mold into the fully formed concept they are trying to teach.
From New York Times ● Jul. 23, 2014
In an age of 24/7 rolling news, blogs and twitters, we are on constant call wherever we are.
From Time ● Feb. 22, 2012
Gran twitters on for another five minutes, filling me in on mundane news: Heather has decided she wants to become a librarian.
From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman
As the orange ball of the sun rose on the horizon and birds twittered in the eucalypti, Baumgarten showed up—a fit, poised, attractive guy in his 40s.
From Golf Digest ● Apr. 2, 2020
The highlight was a rare 19th-century pocket watch, whose face was dotted with pearls and rubies and concealed a pop-up bird, slightly larger than a thumbnail, that twittered and sang.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 20, 2019
He twittered on about last night’s screening, then asked me to think of a piece to write for Vogue, so that’s a relief.
From MSNBC ● Nov. 15, 2017
He shows how observing the nesting larks that twittered above 'no man's land' and natural cycles such as the seasons gave a sense of renewal, and how animal 'troops' were inspirationally loyal.
From Nature ● Nov. 15, 2016
He lifted Charley in his arms and carried him out and laid him in the front seat of the convertible, and the tufted tail twittered against the leather.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
It helps nurture a slower, older way of life, with pocket flocks and modest dairy herds enclosed by thick hedgerows foaming with cow parsley and twittering songbirds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026
On a long low wall alongside the Liangshui river in Beijing, a trader has several small cages with tiny twittering birds.
From BBC ● Dec. 28, 2025
On a spring day, with wildflowers blooming and birds twittering, the war can seem far away.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 17, 2022
Unsurprisingly, birdsong dominates, but so do wind and waves; symphonies of springtime twittering segue abruptly into the whines of a distant fox.
From New York Times ● Jan. 14, 2022
After a few minutes the twittering sound rose again.
From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
