tut

American  

[tuht] / tʌt /

interjection

1. (used as an exclamation of contempt, disdain, impatience, etc.)

2. for shame!

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noun

1. an exclamation of “tut.”

verb (used without object)

tutted, tutting

1. to utter the exclamation “tut.”

tut British  

/ tʌt /

interjection

1. short for tut-tut

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Etymology

Origin of tut

First recorded in 1520–30

Explanation

To tut is to express your feelings of irritation or displeasure. You might tut quietly at your friend's badly behaved dog. Since the 1520s, tut and tut-tut have been used as interjections to express contempt or impatience; and to make such a disapproving sound is to tut. Your substitute teacher might say, "Tut, class, I'm not happy with all the noise you're making," and your piano teacher might tut a bit when you confess that you didn't practice at all this week.

Example Sentences

Those concerned that the stock market is vulnerable to a sharp pullback may tap their screens and tut at the chart from Torsten Slok, Apollo’s chief economist.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 15, 2025

"Ya tut," he said, meaning: "I am here."

From Reuters • Feb. 15, 2023

For others, like the composer Roxanna Panufnik, who contributed a setting of Severus Gastorius’s melody “Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan,” the project was an opportunity to bring her closer to Bach.

From New York Times • Oct. 24, 2022

"This means that the public should not stare, tut or make negative comments about breastfeeding babies."

From BBC • Aug. 2, 2022

“Tut tut, such language for a young sparrow.”

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques