jitter

J8I1T1T1E1R1
UK/ˈd͡ʒɪtə(ɹ)/US/ˈd͡ʒɪtɚ/US[ˈd͡ʒɪɾɚ]

noun

A nervous action; a tic.

“That creepy movie gave me the jitters.”

Similar
Less commonScrabble 13

Meanings

jitter1

nounjitter (countable and uncountable, plural jitters)

plural jitters

  1. countableuncountableA nervous action; a tic.
  2. countablein pluraloftenuncountablewith definite articleA state of nervousness.

    That creepy movie gave me the jitters.

    3 more examples

    But Bolton deserve real credit, seeking to take advantage of their jitters at every opportunity in typically determined fashion.

    2010 December 29, Chris Whyatt, “Chelsea 1 - 0 Bolton”, in BBC

    It is a sunny morning in Amman and the three uniformed judges in Jordan’s state security court are briskly working their way through a pile of slim grey folders on the bench before them. Each details the charges against 25 or so defendants accused of supporting the fighters of the Islamic State (Isis), now rampaging across Syria and Iraq under their sinister black banners and sending nervous jitters across the Arab world.

    2014 November 27, Ian Black, “Courts kept busy as Jordan works to crush support for Isis”, in The Guardian

    Interviewer: How do you feel coming back here? What is constantly evoked in you when you see your center again back in Little Rock? Clinton: Well first of all if I don't come back about once a month I start to get the jitters.

    2022 May 5, Bill Clinton, 0:00 from the start, in Bill Clinton talks Arkansas politics & Ukraine Full interview, THV11, archived from the original on 05 May 2022
  3. countableuncountablecommunicationsAn abrupt and unwanted variation of one or more signal characteristics.

    Now you have mirror-clear TV without picture flopover, jitter, tear!

    1956, LIFE, volume 41, number 11, page 41
  4. countableuncountabledata visualizationA random positioning of data points to avoid visual overlap.
verbjitter (third-person singular simple present jitters, present participle jittering, simple past and past participle jittered)

present singular third person jitters · participle present jittering · participle past jittered · past jittered

  1. intransitiveTo be nervous.
  2. data visualizationTo position data points randomly to avoid visual overlap.

jitter2

nounjitter (plural jitters)

plural jitters

  1. computingA program or routine that performs jitting; a just-in-time compiler.

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar

Origin

jitter · noun, verb

  1. Middle Englishchittern“to twitter, chatter”
  2. Englishjitter

Possibly alteration of chitter (“to tremble, shiver”), from Middle English chittern (“to twitter, chatter”). Ultimately onomatopoeic; compare didder and teeter as well as German zittern.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian треперене, тик
  • треперене (treperene)nervous action; a tic
  • тик (tik)nervous action; a tic
  • нервност (nervnost)state of nervousness; the jitters
Czech třas, třes
  • třasnervous action; a tic
  • třesnervous action; a tic
  • chvěnínervous action; a tic
Dutch interferentie
  • interferentietelecommunications: abrupt and unwanted variation of signal characteristics
Finnish nykiminen, jännitys
  • nykiminennervous action; a tic
  • jännitysstate of nervousness; the jitters
  • värinätelecommunications: abrupt and unwanted variation of signal characteristics
  • huojuntatelecommunications: abrupt and unwanted variation of signal characteristics
  • jittertelecommunications: abrupt and unwanted variation of signal characteristics
  • täristysdata visualisation
  • täristäminendata visualisation
  • täristäädata visualisation
French tic nerveux, gigue
  • tic nerveuxnervous action; a tic
  • giguetelecommunications: abrupt and unwanted variation of signal characteristics
German Zittern, Nervosität
  • Zitternnervous action; a tic
  • Nervositätstate of nervousness; the jitters
  • Aufgeregtheitstate of nervousness; the jitters
  • bibbernTo be nervous
  • zitternTo be nervous
Portuguese tique nervoso, jitter
  • tique nervosonervous action; a tic
  • jittertelecommunications: abrupt and unwanted variation of signal characteristics
Russian дрожание, джиттер
  • дрожание (drožanije)telecommunications: abrupt and unwanted variation of signal characteristics
  • джиттер (džitter)telecommunications: abrupt and unwanted variation of signal characteristics
Spanish tic nervioso, tembleque
  • tic nerviosonervous action; a tic
  • temblequestate of nervousness; the jitters

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with jitter

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

jitter. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jitter

MLA

“jitter.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jitter. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “jitter,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jitter.

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