Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

jitter

[jit-er]
See more synonyms for jitter on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. jitters, nervousness; a feeling of fright or uneasiness (usually preceded by the): Every time I have to make a speech, I get the jitters.
  2. fluctuations in the image on a television screen or in copy received by facsimile transmission, caused by interference or by momentary failures of synchronization.
Show More
verb (used without object)
  1. to behave nervously.
Show More

Origin of jitter

1920–25; variant of chitter to shiver (Middle English chiteren), gradational variant of chatter
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

disco, waltz, rock, samba, tango, throb, pulsate, shudder, shiver, convulse, tremble, gyrate, quiver, wobble, flutter, fret, squirm, twiddle, jiggle, twitch

Examples from the Web for jitter

Contemporary Examples

British Dictionary definitions for jitter

jitter

verb
  1. (intr) to be anxious or nervous
Show More
noun
  1. the jitters nervousness and anxiety
  2. electronics small rapid variations in the amplitude or timing of a waveform arising from fluctuations in the voltage supply, mechanical vibrations, etc
Show More

Word Origin

C20: of unknown origin
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

Word Origin and History for jitter

v.

"to move agitatedly," 1931, American English; see jitters. Related: Jittered; jittering.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper