tit
1 Americannoun
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a titmouse.
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any of various other small birds.
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Archaic. a girl or young woman; hussy.
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Archaic. a small or poor horse; nag.
noun
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a teat.
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Slang: Vulgar. a breast.
noun
abbreviation
abbreviation
noun
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slang a female breast
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a teat or nipple
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derogatory a girl or young woman
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slang a despicable or unpleasant person: often used as a term of address
noun
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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
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any of various similar small birds
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archaic a worthless or worn-out horse; nag
abbreviation
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Etymology
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Is he worried his prosecutions set off today’s “tit for tat”? Nah, said Mr. Smith.
Her wig was heavy, her part was “background music” and the one time Marlon Brando spoke to her, he said, “Nice tits.”
From Los Angeles Times
“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
Sentencing him on Friday, Judge Mark Lucraft KC said the gang rivalry had seen a number of "tit for tat" murders and attempted murders in London and overseas over the past 10 years.
From BBC
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
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.