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 also accused BBC News of "uncorroborated tittle tattle" in its reporting.
From BBC • Jul. 14, 2025
But the choice not to tattle on him is simple, and in fact the only straightforward thing about the whole scenario.
From Washington Post • Apr. 5, 2023
We’re hesitant to tattle to our supervisor, but since we’re equals, we’re also not comfortable confronting her.
From New York Times • Oct. 29, 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
It meant you didn’t gossip, tattle, or tease.
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
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.
