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Main meanings of tit in English

: tit1tit2

tit1

noun

  • 1A small songbird that searches acrobatically for insects among foliage and branches.

    Family Paridae: three genera, especially Parus, and numerous species. See and blue tit and , and great tit

    • ‘This behavior is especially prevalent among chickadees and tits that scatter hoard food items in foliage, branches, and bark of trees.’
    • ‘Scurrying about in the woodland fringes, hedges and feeding sites are finches, tits and thrushes keep your eyes open for the occasional hen harrier, merlin and sparrowhawk.’
    • ‘He pointed out that not only pigeons live in the South Parade area, but ravens, jackdaws, collared doves, blackbirds, thrushes, wagtails, tits and the now-endangered house sparrow.’
    • ‘Lovebirds, barbets, tits and finches warm themselves in the cozy chambers built by the weavers.’
    • ‘No wonder the tits and finches were so noisy and active.’
    1. 1.1Used in names of birds that are similar or related to the tits, e.g. penduline tit, New Zealand tit.

Origin

Mid 16th century probably of Scandinavian origin and related to Icelandic titlingur ‘sparrow’; compare with titling and titmouse. Earlier senses were ‘small horse’ and ‘girl’; the current sense dates from the early 18th century.

Pronunciation

tit

/tɪt/

Main meanings of tit in English

: tit1tit2

tit2

noun

  • 1vulgar slang A woman's breast.

    mammary gland, mamma
    1. 1.1British informal A foolish or ineffectual person.
      idiot, ass, halfwit, nincompoop, blockhead, buffoon, dunce, dolt, ignoramus, cretin, imbecile, dullard, moron, simpleton, clod

  • 2military slang A button that is pushed to fire a gun or release a bomb.

Phrases

    tits and ass
    North American vulgar slang

    • Used in reference to the use of crudely sexual images of women.

    get on someone's tits
    British vulgar slang

    • Irritate someone intensely.

Origin

Old English tit ‘teat, nipple’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch tit and German Zitze. The vulgar slang use was originally US and dates from the early 20th century.

Pronunciation

tit

/tɪt/