chitter

C3H4I1T1T1E1R1
UK/ˈtʃɪtə//ˈt͡ʃɪtɚ/

verb

To make a series of high-pitched sounds; to twitter, chirp or chatter.

“It was a beautifully sunny day and beetles could be heard chittering loudly in the rose garden by the side of the path made out of antique bricks.”

Similar
twitter
OriginMiddle English chiteren →
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Meanings

chitter1

verbchitter (third-person singular simple present chitters, present participle chittering, simple past and past participle chittered)

present singular third person chitters · participle present chittering · participle past chittered · past chittered

  1. To make a series of high-pitched sounds; to twitter, chirp or chatter.

    It was a beautifully sunny day and beetles could be heard chittering loudly in the rose garden by the side of the path made out of antique bricks.

  2. ScotlandobsoleteTo shiver or chatter with cold.

    Whare wilt thou cower thy chittering wing, / An' close thy e'e?

    1786, Robert Burns, A Winter Night

chitter2

nounchitter (plural chitters)

plural chitters

  1. alternativedialectalAlternative form of chitterling.

Synonyms & antonyms

verbmake high-pitched sounds, as of birds

Similar
twitter
Broader
peepcheepchirp
Also see
ekekektwitter

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Middle Englishchiteren
  2. Englishchitter

From Middle English chiteren, chitren, cheteren. Ultimately onomatopoeic; compare didder and teeter as well as German zittern.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with chitter

bitterglittersplittersitterhitterjittercritterfitterknitterwitterquitterfritterskitterflittertwitterchemotransmittercrinklecritterdiapercritterembitterin the shitternitterpampcritterquittorreknitter
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

chitter. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chitter

MLA

“chitter.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chitter. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chitter,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chitter.

Source: chitter on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.