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

“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

"In our latest discovery, we revealed that the Japanese tit uses gestures to communicate with their mate," said Associate Professor Toshitaka Suzuki from the University of Tokyo.

From Science Daily • Mar. 25, 2024

It’s also worth noting that the other side of today’s allegations – that individual MPs were hacked too – is not uncommon in the tit for tat cyber espionage world.

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2024

Like an excited tit which had nursed a cuckoo, Uncle Dap fluttered along behind his prodigy.

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