tit

¹ American  

[tit] / tɪt /

noun

1. a titmouse.

2. any of various other small birds.

3. Archaic. a girl or young woman; hussy.

4. Archaic. a small or poor horse; nag.

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tit ² American  

[tit] / tɪt /

noun

1. a teat.

2. Slang: Vulgar. a breast.

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tit ³ American  

[tit] / tɪt /

noun

1. tit for tat.

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tit. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. title.

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Tit. ⁵ American  

abbreviation

Bible.

1. Titus.

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tit ¹ British  

/ tɪt /

noun

1. slang a female breast

2. a teat or nipple

3. derogatory a girl or young woman

4. slang a despicable or unpleasant person: often used as a term of address

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tit ² British  

/ tɪt /

noun

1. any of numerous small active Old World songbirds of the family Paridae (titmice), esp those of the genus Parus (bluetit, great tit, etc). They have a short bill and feed on insects and seeds

2. any of various similar small birds

3. archaic a worthless or worn-out horse; nag

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Tit. ³ British  

abbreviation

1. Titus

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Etymology

Origin of tit¹

First recorded in 1540–50; short for titmouse ( def. ); akin to Old Norse titlingr “sparrow,” Norwegian tite “titmouse”; tit ²

Origin of tit²

First recorded before 1100; Middle English, Old English tit(t) “teat, pap, breast”; cognate with Middle Low German, Middle Dutch titte, German Zitze, Norwegian titta; akin to tit ¹; teat ( def. )

Origin of tit³

Perhaps variant of tip ⁴

Example Sentences

The top three birds in Kent and West Sussex were the house sparrow, blue tit and Starling, while in East Sussex they were the house sparrow, blue tit and wood pigeon.

From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026

In this tit for tat, though, California’s threats to respond have thus far proved ineffectual.

From Slate • Aug. 19, 2025

Among birds, the Japanese tit offers the first experimental evidence for compositional syntax in any non-human species.

From Salon • May 29, 2025

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 • Apr. 19, 2024

“But what’s the good of a blue tit or a robin to us? They don’t fly any distance. We need a big bird.”

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams