tattle

[ tat-l ]

/ ˈtæt l /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tattle ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), tat·tled, tat·tling.

to let out secrets.

to chatter, prate, or gossip.

verb (used with object), tat·tled, tat·tling.

to utter idly; disclose by gossiping.

noun

the act of tattling.

idle talk; chatter; gossip.

Nearby words

tattersall's, tattie, tattie-bogle, tattie-peelin, tatting, tattle, tattler, tattletale, tattletale gray, tattoo, tattva

Origin of tattle

1475–85; < Dutch tatelen; cognate with Middle Low German tatelen

Related forms

tat·tling·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tattle

What have I to do with the tattle with which a pack of old women console themselves for not being sea-sick?'
A London Life; The Patagonia; The Liar; Mrs. Temperly|Henry James
You may, if your tattle is political, become serviceable to men engaged in great affairs.
Essays in Little|Andrew Lang
The gossip is not always of the swift, nor the tattle of the wrong.
The Complete Cynic|Oliver Herford
Miss Polly was a kind-hearted woman, but she couldn't resist the inclination to gossip and tattle.
Gabriel Tolliver|Joel Chandler Harris

He lowered his voice as if a sea urchin might hear and tattle.
Her Father's Daughter|Gene Stratton-Porter

British Dictionary definitions for tattle

tattle

/ (ˈtætəl) /

verb

(intr) to gossip about another's personal matters or secrets

(tr) to reveal by gossipingto tattle a person's secrets

(intr) to talk idly; chat

noun

the act or an instance of tattling

a scandalmonger or gossip

Word Origin for tattle

C15 (in the sense: to stammer, hesitate): from Middle Dutch tatelen to prate, of imitative 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