tit
noun
a titmouse.
tit
1 American
[tit]
/ tɪt /
noun
-
a titmouse.
-
any of various other small birds.
-
Archaic. a girl or young woman; hussy.
-
Archaic. a small or poor horse; nag.
tit
2
American
[tit]
/ tɪt /
noun
-
a teat.
-
Slang: Vulgar. a breast.
tit
3
American
[tit]
/ tɪt /
noun
tit.
4
American
abbreviation
Tit.
5
American
abbreviation
Bible.
tit
1
British
/ tɪt /
noun
-
slang a female breast
-
a teat or nipple
-
derogatory a girl or young woman
-
slang a despicable or unpleasant person: often used as a term of address
tit
2
British
/ tɪt /
noun
-
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
-
any of various similar small birds
-
archaic a worthless or worn-out horse; nag
Tit.
3
British
abbreviation
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
In this tit for tat, though, California’s threats to respond have thus far proved ineffectual.
From Slate • Aug. 19, 2025
“But what’s the good of a blue tit or a robin to us? They don’t fly any distance. We need a big bird.”
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
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.
