titter
Americanverb (used without object)
noun
verb
-
(intr) to snigger, esp derisively or in a suppressed way
-
(tr) to express by tittering
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
tittersimple
-
titterssimple
-
have titteredperfect
-
has titteredperfect
-
am titteringprogressive
-
are titteringprogressive
-
is titteringprogressive
-
have been titteringperfect progressive
-
has been titteringperfect progressive
Past
-
titteredsimple
-
had titteredperfect
-
was titteringprogressive
-
were titteringprogressive
-
had been titteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of titter
1610–20; perhaps < Scandinavian; compare Old Norse tittra to quiver, Swedish (dial.) tittra to giggle
Explanation
A titter is an awkward laugh at something that you shouldn’t be laughing at, like during dinner when Uncle Marvin makes a joke about your mother’s new hairstyle. If you try to hide your laugh, it’s probably a titter. A laugh that you can’t keep in but also can’t let out, that’s a titter. It usually happens in situations where you shouldn’t be laughing, like listening to your English teacher talk about a date he went on the night before, or when someone tells you a joke in a library. A titter is kinder than a snicker, less noticeable than a giggle, quieter than a chuckle, and way less fun than a chortle. Life’s a joke, laugh it up!
Vocabulary lists containing titter
Instead of "Said": Words for Upbeat Banter
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Gene Wilder (1933-2016) Tribute List
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Lions of Little Rock
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
The crowd began to titter as Newman shaded his eyes, pretending to look into the stands for a challenger.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2023
By the time the first half of the film had been unfolded yesterday the spectators were beginning to titter gently.
From Slate ● Dec. 31, 2019
We titter and tremble over ‘fake news’ that most discerning readers, re: nominally intelligent adults, would spot on their Facebook News feeds in about a New York minute.
From New York Times ● Apr. 16, 2018
Seven days quiz What wisecrack caused a titter before the Queen's Speech?
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2017
There was a titter and soon great rolling whoops of laughter deafened him.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
The upper keys were pressed to combine different types of laughter, from titters to belly laughs, and the foot pedals controlled the timing and duration of the laughter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026
The titters would feel dismissive, except that they also fit the tone’s grand-scale terror.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2025
He asked the audience for a show of hands for who had been to the Hampshire attraction, and after a few titters and an expression of "not enough" from the PM, he accelerated.
From BBC ● Nov. 22, 2021
The crowd at the televised CNN town hall titters with laughter.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 17, 2020
The simulacrum swells, titters, and then falls into a pile of laughing shadows, their cackles falling against my ears like slivers of ice.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
The point was that Bush lacked “moral courage,” Mr. Trudeau explained defensively, though more than a few readers must have tittered at the cruelty of his word choice.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
Mainstays also include celebrities: British tabloids tittered for weeks over reports that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had spent an early date at one of the Soho Houses in London.
From New York Times ● Jul. 14, 2021
But titter not, lest you be tittered, it’s back tomorrow and the cold turkey will be brief.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 5, 2021
The ballpark tittered as the news reached social media.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2019
Goosey-goosey girls turned and tittered under their brollies.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
“Joe Biden,” Cooper said as the tittering subsided.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 3, 2022
As the Dauphine and Cavalieri, Thomas and Jaster make starving for attention into a show of flamboyance — she tittering shamelessly and he performing a full actor’s warm-up for a simple game of charades.
From New York Times ● Feb. 21, 2022
Newspaper accounts of the trial suggest a rollicking scene, the full-house crowd tittering when one of the lawyers recited the poem’s contentious passages.
From Slate ● Feb. 23, 2021
His dramatic shift in tone was enough to turn the nervous tittering that F1 drivers always produce when put on the spot into actually taking a stand this week.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 5, 2020
"But if the husband of that tittering Tarkheena friend of yours is paying his head groom to get the best oats, then I think the head groom is cheating him."
From "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis
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.
