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• tit
  tit

  noun

  a titmouse.
• tit.
  tit.

  abbreviation

  title.
• Tit.
  Tit.

  abbreviation

  Titus.

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”; see also 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; see also teat ( def. )

Origin of tit³

Perhaps variant of tip ⁴

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tit tit. Tit.

He praised Powell’s avoidance of engaging in tit for tat with the president.

From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026

The culprit: a half-ounce bird called the blue tit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

Researchers plan to continue monitoring the great tit population in Wytham Woods to understand how these weather effects may shift in the future.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 12, 2026

“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 ● Sep. 12, 2025

He had better tit still, leaving the hue on the ground, so that Cully could settle down and come in his own time.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Decretals, cap. x, De Hæreticis, lib. v, tit. vii.

From The Inquisition A Critical and Historical Study of the Coercive Power of the Church by Bertrand L. (Bertrand Louis) Conway

It is ordered by the statutes, tit. vi.,—

From Notes and Queries, Number 191, June 25, 1853 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc. by George Bell

Laws regarding navigation and commerce.—In lib. ix, tit. xxxxv.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 25 of 55 1635-36 Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, As Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century by James Alexander Robertson

Cf. ley i, tit. xxi, which relates to the renunciation of such offices after purchase.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 07 of 55 1588-1591 Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century by James Alexander Robertson

Felipe II, Añover, August 9, 1589, clause 34 of his instructions; Felipe III, Ventosilla, November 4, 1606; lib. iii, tit. x, ley xiii.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 16 of 55 1609 Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century by James Alexander Robertson

The word especially is used for a term of distinction, even in those places where the adversative but is not joined to it, as in Tit. i.

From The Divine Right of Church Government by Sundry Ministers Of Christ Within The City Of London by

The leaves at Paris contain 1 Cor. x. 22-29; xi. 9-16; 1 Tim. iii. 7-13; Tit. i. 1-3; 15-ii.

From A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament, Vol. I. by Frederick Henry Ambrose Scrivener

This is that which the grace of God teaches, to deny “ungodliness and worldly lusts,” and to “live soberly, righteously, and godly, towards your God, your neighbour, and yourself,” Tit. ii.

From The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning by Hugh Binning

From the words of St. Paul, Tit. i.

From The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Principal Saints January, February, March by Alban Butler

Poor fools as we are, we forget that we ourselves were so; Tit. iii.

From The Jerusalem Sinner Saved; or, Good News for the Vilest of Men by John Bunyan