chitter
Americanverb (used without object)
Etymology
Origin of chitter
1350–1400; Middle English che ( a ) teren, chiteren, variant of chateren to chatter
Vocabulary lists containing chitter
"Terrible Things"
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"The Baby-Sitter" and "Beware: Do Not Read This Poem"
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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.
They chitter like birds, or like an ’80s video game laser gun.
From Slate ● May 27, 2026
“Hang Time” begins with a visual declaration of horror but, amid its chitter and chatter, never seems to finish the conversation.
From New York Times ● Mar. 21, 2023
Its handful of houses hide behind a dune covered with morning glories and pandanus trees, the chitter of cicadas interrupted only by the cadence of waves and the call of an azure-winged jay.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 13, 2021
Ultimately, though, sound can be a sign of life: from the chitter of children to the muffled voices from a neighbour’s TV.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 25, 2019
The spiders around them began to chitter and creep back.
From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda
Definitions 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.
