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
-
has tiffedperfect 3rd person singular
-
have tiffedperfect
-
am tiffingprogressive 1st person singular
-
is tiffingprogressive 3rd person singular
-
have been tiffingperfect progressive
-
has been tiffingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
tiffssingular 3rd person
-
are tiffingprogressive
-
tiffingparticiple
Past
-
had tiffedperfect
-
was tiffingprogressive singular
-
had been tiffingperfect progressive
-
were tiffingprogressive plural
-
tiffedparticiple
-
tiffedsimple
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.
In the first balloting, just after Venice, Telluride and TIFF, more than 20 contenders received votes — but there’s already a clear favorite.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 24, 2025
“It played so well at TIFF, they needed to add several screenings because it kept selling out, making it the hardest ticket to grab.”
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 23, 2025
The director called me and was like, "I’ve got some great news. We just got a confirmation that we're going to be in TIFF."
From Salon • Sep. 15, 2024
At TIFF, Coppola took credit for the idea of centering old negative reviews, but shared that he had no idea how the AI-generated non-quotes ended up in the trailer.
From Salon • Sep. 11, 2024
Many scanners allow for different image formats, TIFF, of course, being a de facto standard.
From Library of Congress Workshop on Etexts by Library of Congress
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.
