tit for tat

noun

1. with an equivalent given in retaliation, as a blow for a blow, repartee, etc.:

   He answered their insults tit for tat.

tit for tat

noun

1. an equivalent given in return or retaliation; blow for blow

tit for tat

1. Giving back exactly what one receives: “If you hit me, I'll do the same to you; it's tit for tat.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of tit for tat¹

First recorded in 1550–60; perhaps variant of earlier tip for tap

Word History and Origins

Origin of tit for tat¹

C16: from earlier tip for tap

Idioms and Phrases

Repayment in kind, retaliation, as in If he won't help with the beach clean-up, I won't run a booth at the bake sale; that's tit for tat . This term is believed to be a corruption of tip for tap , which meant “a blow for a blow.” Its current form dates from the mid-1500s.

Example Sentences

She reeled off a list of villages nearer the border - now deserted and destroyed after the past year of tit for tat exchanges between Hezbollah and Israel.

From BBC

The two well-deserved Trump impeachments are so different from Mayorkas’ and the Biden attempt they shouldn’t even be called tit for tat.

From Los Angeles Times

Whatever the specifics of this latest tit for tat, there is a more fundamental priority for both sides: deterrence – a more solid certainty that strikes on its own soil will not happen again.

From BBC

It’s also worth noting that the other side of today’s allegations – that individual MPs were hacked too – is not uncommon in the tit for tat cyber espionage world.

From BBC

Such behavior is obvious to lead to a tit for tat and a breakdown of our entire electoral system.

From Slate