tattle
Americanverb (used without object)
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to let out secrets.
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to chatter, prate, or gossip.
verb (used with object)
noun
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the act of tattling.
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idle talk; chatter; gossip.
verb
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(intr) to gossip about another's personal matters or secrets
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(tr) to reveal by gossiping
to tattle a person's secrets
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(intr) to talk idly; chat
noun
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the act or an instance of tattling
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a scandalmonger or gossip
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tattle
1475–85; < Dutch tatelen; cognate with Middle Low German tatelen
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.
He accused BBC News of "uncorroborated tittle tattle" in its reporting.
From BBC • Jul. 8, 2025
It has morphed into a broader movement and mind-set encouraging people to tattle on one another to the courts or the state — with grave consequences.
From Washington Post • Jun. 6, 2022
“If Walls Could Talk” they might tattle on the home healthcare worker a woman hires to look after her widowed mother in this new TV movie.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2022
And if you have to dig out the recipes again in June, well, I'm not about to tattle on you.
From Salon • Dec. 20, 2021
Flora bounced on her toes, eager to tattle on Aunt Kitty.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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.
