title

American  

[tahyt-l] / ˈtaɪt l /

noun

• titles
  plural

1. the distinguishing name of a book, poem, picture, piece of music, or the like.

2. a descriptive heading or caption, as of a chapter, section, or other part of a book.

3. title page.

4. a descriptive or distinctive appellation, especially one belonging to a person by right of rank, office, attainment, etc..

   the title of Lord Mayor.

   Synonyms:

   denomination, designation

5. Sports. the championship.

   He won the title three years in a row.

6. an established or recognized right to something.

7. a ground or basis for a claim.

8. anything that provides a ground or basis for a claim.

9. Law.

   1. legal right to the possession of property, especially real property.

   2. the ground or evidence of such right.

   3. the instrument constituting evidence of such right.

   4. a unity combining all of the requisites to complete legal ownership.

   5. a division of a statute, lawbook, etc., especially one larger than an article or section.

   6. (in pleading) the designation of one's basis for judicial relief; the cause of action sued upon, as a contract or tort.

10. Ecclesiastical.

    1. a fixed sphere of work and source of income, required as a condition of ordination.

    2. any of certain Roman Catholic churches in Rome, the nominal incumbents of which are cardinals.

11. Movies, Television. Usually titles.

    1. a subtitle in the viewer's own language.

       an Italian movie with English titles.

    2. any written matter inserted into the film or program, especially the list of actors, technicians, writers, etc., contributing to it; credits.

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adjective

1. of or relating to a title.

   the title story in a collection.

2. that decides a title.

   a title bout.

verb (used with object)

• titles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• titled,
  past participle,  past
• titling
  present participle

1. to furnish with a title; designate by an appellation; entitle.

   Synonyms:

   style, call, term, denominate

title British  

/ ˈtaɪtəl /

noun

1. the distinctive name of a work of art, musical or literary composition, etc

2. a descriptive name, caption, or heading of a section of a book, speech, etc

3. See title page

4. a name or epithet signifying rank, office, or function

5. a formal designation, such as Mr, Mrs, or Miss

6. an appellation designating nobility

7. films

   1. short for subtitle

   2. written material giving credits in a film or television programme

8. sport a championship

9. property law

   1. the legal right to possession of property, esp real property

   2. the basis of such right

   3. the documentary evidence of such right

      title deeds

10. law

    1. the heading or a division of a statute, book of law, etc

    2. the heading of a suit or action at law

11. 1. any customary or established right

    2. a claim based on such a right

12. a definite spiritual charge or office in the church, without appointment to which a candidate for holy orders cannot lawfully be ordained

13. RC Church a titular church

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verb

1. (tr) to give a title to

Usage

What is a title? A title is the distinct name of a creative work, as in The title of the movie was King Kong. A title is also a formal descriptive term given to a person, as in The diplomat made sure to address the duchess using her proper title. A title is also a championship in sports, The team won the title last year and they came into the season ready to defend it. Almost all books, movies, pieces of art, video games, and all other creative works have titles. Their title is the name they are referred to. For example, Of Mice and Men is the title of a book by John Steinbeck. Further divisions of a work, such as chapters of a book or episodes of a TV show, may also have their own titles. Something that doesn’t have a title but is expected to is said to be untitled. Title can be used in this sense as an adjective, like a title story. When used as a verb, it means to give a title to someone or something, as in The songwriter titled his newest work “Sonata 23.”The word title is also a formal term given to a person based on their rank, authority, achievements, or other qualifying reason. A title usually precedes a person’s name and, if so, is capitalized, as with Doctor, Professor, Sergeant, President, and Prime Minister. Finally, a title is also a championship in sports. When used as an adjective in this sense it describes something that decides who gets the title, like a title game. Example: The title of my favorite movie is The Godfather.

Synonym Usage

See name.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• undertitle
  noun
• mistitle
  verb (used with object)
• retitle
  verb (used with object)
• nontitle
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• titles
  plural

Participles

• titling
  present
• titled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• title
  simple
• titles
  simple
• have titled
  perfect
• has titled
  perfect
• am titling
  progressive
• are titling
  progressive
• is titling
  progressive
• have been titling
  perfect progressive
• has been titling
  perfect progressive

Past

• titled
  simple
• had titled
  perfect
• was titling
  progressive
• were titling
  progressive
• had been titling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will title
  simple
• will have titled
  perfect
• will be titling
  progressive
• will have been titling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of title

First recorded before 950; Middle English, variant of titel, Old English titul, from Latin titulus “superscription, title”

Explanation

A title is typically the official part of your name, placed at the beginning to signify a certain status or function. So, do you prefer "Mr.," "Mrs.," "Dr." or "Ms"? Or perhaps you just go by "Grand Pooh-bah"? There seem to be as many ways to use the word title as there are titles on a library shelf — because a title is also what you call a book or song or work of art. Titles are even given to statutes and acts of legislature. When you buy a car, you get a title, which is a piece of paper certifying your ownership. And when your favorite team wins the championship? You often say they won the title — and the right to brag.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

title titles titled titling

Her full title is Baroness Campbell of Surbiton.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

Tony Corrente, a former baseball coach at La Mirada who won a CIF title in 1988, made it to the NFL for 26 years as an official and was referee for Super Bowl XI.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

A cheery disposition didn’t keep Friedman from seeing that a “tyranny of the status quo”—the title of one of the books he wrote with his wife, Rose—often blocked the adoption of good policies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

The title could not be more fitting as the Sky Blues ended their 25-year wait for a top-flight goal and victory in front of their own fans.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

“Why This Time Is Different” was the title of his speech—even though it still wasn’t clear he was meant to be giving anything so formal as a speech.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Bernstein expects the Warner Bros. film and TV studios to amass $11.7 billion in revenue, driven by strong titles including the sequel to “Minecraft” and a new “Lord of the Rings” movie.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

A sleeping giant must have experienced some element of former glory and Pro Vercelli are the obvious candidate there, winning seven Italian titles by 1922.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

It is a self-certification system which requires authors to sign a licence agreement, and so far around 6,500 titles have received the stamp.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

“Do you often wake up tired?” perfectly toned millennials with titles such as “wellness professional” ask me from my screen.

From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2026

Their names and titles were listed under the photo as a genetics team working with the US government.

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste

They were a portrait titled "Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano" and a depiction of a woman at a well called "Young Woman at the Well".

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

Matthew Robinson, a criminal justice professor at Appalachian State University and author of a book on U.S. capital punishment titled “Death Nation,” said he was “appalled” by the plans.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

In a less friendly profile for the same magazine published this April, titled “Sam Altman May Control Our Future—Can He Be Trusted?,”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

He recently published a book on the topic titled, “How to Help Your Parents as They Age: A Financial Planner’s Guide to Caregiving.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

There's a stack of books on a table nearby, all titled Manga Pop Art by Tanya Fujisaki.

From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman

The 28-year-old documented his preparations in the lead-up to Saturday's record attempt, titling his endeavours 'Project 222' in reference to the total number of seconds standing between him and history.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

He posted his microscope photos in a few places online, titling them “the people’s algae.”

From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2026

What you “see” is the combined effect of sight and your ear canals telling you that you are titling backwards.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 9, 2026

Seek advice from a fee-only fiduciary and family-law attorney, and look into titling your property to reflect your contributions.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 31, 2026

Then I posted all of it online, titling it: “Trolls in the Dungeon.”

From "Warcross" by Marie Lu

Related Words

• championship
• crown
• medal
• power