Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To laugh in a restrained, nervous way; giggle.
- noun A nervous giggle.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To laugh in a restrained or nervous manner, as from suppressed mirth, pleasure, or embarrassment; giggle; snicker.
- To move back and forth; sway; waver.
- To teeter; seesaw.
- To tremble.
- noun A restrained or nervous laugh; a giggle; a snicker. There's a titter of winds in that beechen tree.
- noun A weed, probably the hairy vetch. See
tine .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To laugh with the tongue striking against the root of the upper teeth; to laugh with restraint, or without much noise; to giggle.
- noun A restrained laugh.
- intransitive verb To seesaw. See
teeter .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
nervous orrepressed giggle . - verb To
laugh orgiggle in a somewhatsubdued manner. - verb obsolete To
teeter ; toseesaw .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb laugh nervously
- noun a nervous restrained laugh
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Her standing out in the room was the signal for a convulsed titter from the other prisoners.
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"Prefer chaney to cricket?" asked Urquhart's uncle, with his agreeable laugh that was too attractive to be described as a titter, a name that its high, light quality might have suggested.
The Lee Shore Rose Macaulay 1919
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Or rather, she read the first two pages, gave the kind of titter that frightens dogs and small children, then announced with finality, Well, you have some good lines here.
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Suddenly curious noise, that I'm told is known as a titter, interrupted me, and, before I had quite finished, there was a boisterous roar of laughter. "
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 104, March 11, 1893 Various 1876
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I so remember that product, and how the name tanked it when the AIDS crisis hit … and how the product made some kids in high school titter. o_O
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It was such a welcome release of tension that both of them started to titter, which succeeded in drawing curious looks at the pair of laughing loonys.
Western Man Janet Dailey 2011
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It was such a welcome release of tension that both of them started to titter, which succeeded in drawing curious looks at the pair of laughing loonys.
Western Man Janet Dailey 2011
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It would seem to be a born of the same zeitgeist that brought us Avenue Q; our desire to titter at the incongruity of naughty and innocent.
Erika Milvy: Oh, Naughty Muppets. What Would Jim Henson Think of You Now?W Erika Milvy 2011
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"This came in the morning post," he ventured apologetically and with the hint of a titter.
Winged Blackmail 2010
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Instead of manic tears flowing down their cheeks, each little titter was weighed and savored; good God, she said one night
The Last Beach Heather Con Chapman 2011
seanahan commented on the word titter
The adult version of twitter.
May 15, 2009
munjal.upadhyay commented on the word titter
laugh covertly ,, chanamana hasavu,,,
March 25, 2013