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tittle-tattle

[tit-l-tat-l]
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noun
  1. gossip or foolish chatter.
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verb (used without object), tit·tle-tat·tled, tit·tle-tat·tling.
  1. to gossip or chatter.
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Origin of tittle-tattle

First recorded in 1520–30; gradational compound based on tittle to whisper, gossip
Related formstit·tle-tat·tler, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

whisperimplynoisechatdishblabhintjawspreadrumorblatherprateintimatebabblereportprattlechatterrepeattattlesuggest

Examples from the Web for tittle-tattle

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • I was very young at this time, but I already had a certain disdain for tittle-tattle.

    My Double Life

    Sarah Bernhardt

  • She takes no interest in anything beyond the tittle-tattle of the county.

    Cleo The Magnificent

    Louis Zangwill

  • Tittle-tattle will effect no lodgment in the Asquithian brain.

  • Self-importance, jealousy, tittle-tattle are the order of the day.

    Loss and Gain

    John Henry Newman

  • Put an end to this tittle-tattle, to this idle babble, that set us defying one another.

    Peace

    Aristophanes

British Dictionary definitions for tittle-tattle

tittle-tattle

noun
  1. idle chat or gossip
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verb
  1. (intr) to chatter or gossip
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Derived Formstittle-tattler, noun
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