tiff
Americannoun
-
a slight or petty quarrel.
- Synonyms:
- difference, misunderstanding, scrap, spat
-
a slight fit of annoyance, bad mood, or the like.
verb (used without object)
-
to have a petty quarrel.
-
to be in a tiff.
noun
-
a petty quarrel
-
a fit of ill humour
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
have tiffedperfect
-
has tiffedperfect 3rd person singular
-
have been tiffingperfect progressive
-
is tiffingprogressive 3rd person singular
-
has been tiffingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
tiffssingular 3rd person
-
are tiffingprogressive
-
tiffingparticiple
-
am tiffingprogressive 1st person singular
Past
-
had tiffedperfect
-
were tiffingprogressive plural
-
tiffedparticiple
-
was tiffingprogressive singular
-
tiffedsimple
-
had been tiffingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tiff
First recorded in 1720–30; origin uncertain
Explanation
A tiff is a minor, relatively unimportant argument or fight. A tiff with your brother might start over the subject of whose turn it is to take out the trash. It's no fun to have a tiff with someone, but it's usually resolved or forgotten easily. When you have a tiff with a friend, it's inevitably a squabble over some silly topic, and if you bicker with your boyfriend, you can call it a "lovers' tiff." In the 1700s, a tiff was an "outburst of temper," from an unknown source. Some word experts suggest the word echoes the sound of a "puff of air or gas."
Vocabulary lists containing tiff
The Catcher in the Rye
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Never Let Me Go
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Peter Pan
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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.
And for good measure, there's already been a very public tiff with the industry, after ministers started talking about price gouging and profiteering.
From BBC • Mar. 14, 2026
Perhaps most amusing is Mr. Booker’s tiff with Conan O’Brien, who made a joke about the city of Newark.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026
In a year full of rap beef from artists like Megan, Minaj and Metro Boomin, Lamar took a grenade to his tiff with Drake and launched it.
From Salon • Dec. 28, 2024
Back in 2019, Trump’s call caused a brief diplomatic tiff with Denmark, under whose sovereignty the vast island falls.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2024
Biggest of all was the tiff in Schmidt’s office.
From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin
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.
