tit

¹ American  

[tit] / tɪt /

noun

1. a titmouse.

2. any of various other small birds.

3. Archaic. a girl or young woman; hussy.

4. Archaic. a small or poor horse; nag.

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tit ² American  

[tit] / tɪt /

noun

1. a teat.

2. Slang: Vulgar. a breast.

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tit ³ American  

[tit] / tɪt /

noun

1. tit for tat.

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tit. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. title.

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Tit. ⁵ American  

abbreviation

Bible.

1. Titus.

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tit ¹ British  

/ tɪt /

noun

1. slang a female breast

2. a teat or nipple

3. derogatory a girl or young woman

4. slang a despicable or unpleasant person: often used as a term of address

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tit ² British  

/ tɪt /

noun

1. any of numerous small active Old World songbirds of the family Paridae (titmice), esp those of the genus Parus (bluetit, great tit, etc). They have a short bill and feed on insects and seeds

2. any of various similar small birds

3. archaic a worthless or worn-out horse; nag

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Tit. ³ British  

abbreviation

1. Titus

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Etymology

Origin of tit¹

First recorded in 1540–50; short for titmouse ( def. ); akin to Old Norse titlingr “sparrow,” Norwegian tite “titmouse”; tit ²

Origin of tit²

First recorded before 1100; Middle English, Old English tit(t) “teat, pap, breast”; cognate with Middle Low German, Middle Dutch titte, German Zitze, Norwegian titta; akin to tit ¹; teat ( def. )

Origin of tit³

Perhaps variant of tip ⁴

Example Sentences

Is he worried his prosecutions set off today’s “tit for tat”? Nah, said Mr. Smith.

From The Wall Street Journal

“The concern for the public and for representative democracy is that you’re going to have a lot of tit for tat moving forward,” Skelley told Salon.

From Salon

Instead of tit for tat, the prime minister is pivoting Canada with precision toward alternative trade blocs like Europe and the Pacific Rim.

From Salon

"We're happier sat in an oak tree ten foot from the ground, watching blue tits feeding on caterpillars – involved and immersed in that natural world."

From BBC

Among birds, the Japanese tit offers the first experimental evidence for compositional syntax in any non-human species.

From Salon