Mitty

American

[mit-ee] / ˈmɪt i /

noun

Walter Mitty.

Mitty British

/ ˈmɪtɪ /

noun

1. a fictional character given to grand and elaborate fantasies; daydreamer
2. ( as modifier )
  
  a Walter Mitty character
  a Mitty act

"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

Other Word Forms

Mittyesque adjective
Mittyish adjective

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.

“She’s so incredibly shifty,” Mitty coach Sue Phillips said of Smith.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 14, 2026

Carell: My instinct was to not make Greg a nebbish, because I didn’t want it to be Walter Mitty.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 9, 2026

Those behind the Walter Mitty Hunters Club would not speak to me directly - or tell me who they are - but in message exchanges told me they were all ex-service personnel.

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