Mitty
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of Mitty
C20: from a short story The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1939), by James Thurber
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.
A "Walter Mitty character" who falsely claimed his luxury electric Jaguar had malfunctioned on the motorway and could not brake, forcing police to bring it to an emergency stop, has been jailed.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
“She’s so incredibly shifty,” Mitty coach Sue Phillips said of Smith.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 14, 2026
Jones said he spotted his Walter Mitty dressed as "a senior rank in the RAF" and "wearing medals he wasn't entitled to".
From BBC ● Jan. 21, 2026
Walter Mitty is a term sometimes used to describe a person who fantasizes about a life more interesting and exciting than their own.
From BBC ● Jan. 21, 2026
“To aging Walter Mitty types like myself, Dick Bass was an inspiration,” Seaborn Beck Weathers explained in a thick East Texas twang during the trek to Everest Base Camp last April.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
