titmouse

American

[tit-mous] / ˈtɪtˌmaʊs /

noun

any of numerous, widely distributed, small songbirds of the family Paridae, especially of the genus Parus, having soft, thick plumage and a short, stout, conical bill.

titmouse British

/ ˈtɪtˌmaʊs /

noun

(usually plural) any small active songbird of the family Paridae, esp those of the genus Parus See tit 1

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of titmouse

1275–1325; Middle English tit ( e ) mose ( see tit ¹); mose, Old English māse titmouse; cognate with German Meise titmouse, Old Norse meis- in meisingr kind of bird; modern mouse by folk etymology

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.

They concluded that in agricultural areas, species of greater conservation concern, like the oak titmouse, would see worse outcomes than species of lower concern, like the house sparrow.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 19, 2023

“I am happy when I watch a tufted titmouse, nuthatch or any other bird fly to one of my feeders and chow down on a big fat nut or seed,” wrote Donna McDowell of Gaithersburg.

From Washington Post • Feb. 14, 2023

The titmouse managed to steal over 20 beak-fulls of the raccoon’s fur without waking it.

From New York Times • Aug. 6, 2021

"I discovered there's an oak titmouse nesting on my back patio," she says.

From Salon • Apr. 11, 2020

She’s got a lovely voice, but her memory is like that of a titmouse with curvature of the brain.

From "The Pigman" by Paul Zindel

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023