titter
Americanverb (used without object)
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titters,
present (3rd person singular)
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tittered,
past participle, past
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tittering
present participle
noun
verb
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(intr) to snigger, esp derisively or in a suppressed way
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(tr) to express by tittering
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tittersimple
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titterssimple
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have titteredperfect
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has titteredperfect
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am titteringprogressive
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are titteringprogressive
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is titteringprogressive
-
have been titteringperfect progressive
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has been titteringperfect progressive
Past
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titteredsimple
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had titteredperfect
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was titteringprogressive
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were titteringprogressive
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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
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Gene Wilder (1933-2016) Tribute List
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The Lions of Little Rock
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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
But titter not, lest you be tittered, it’s back tomorrow and the cold turkey will be brief.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 5, 2021
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
I heard the first titter jump up in the air over my head, over the pulpit and out the window.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
The pair took a beat through bubbling titters from the audience before knowingly yelling, “Happy Pride everyone!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
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
"And there was understandably a lot of titters, laughter and giggles - but it's starting to feel like a tangible thing that could actually come to fruition."
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2025
Spacey replied to titters from the gallery in the packed courtroom.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 14, 2023
Accustomed to seeing stiff, mortified contestants, the audience responded with uncertain titters.
From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli
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
“Do you think they’ll let me take home one of the freaky sandworm popcorn buckets?” someone in the crowd tittered.
From New York Times ● Mar. 4, 2024
But titter not, lest you be tittered, it’s back tomorrow and the cold turkey will be brief.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 5, 2021
“You might be expecting me to say something bad about Kanye, and how he ran up on the stage and ruined my VMA . . .” she sang, as the audience tittered expectantly.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 14, 2019
“Ah, Officer,” Von Marsh tittered, hurrying to the front of the cart.
From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older
SAN FRANCISCO—Alex Sorenson and Lizzie Silvers were about to tie the knot at an outdoor ceremony when a group of tipsy young men stumbled in out of the gloom, tittering at discovering nuptials in progress.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
As Hedda’s actions grow more extreme, the audience could be heard tittering.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2026
And that, Youssef said in a half-joke that turned Stewart’s misty eyes to tittering ones, is why he was forced to flee Egypt.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 25, 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
"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.
