Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tittle-tattle

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 2.13 in modern English

Syllables: tit-tle--tat-tle
IPA

12

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

5

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Petty, idle gossip.

Uncountable

noun

An idle, trifling talker; a gossip.

Countable; Uncountable

verb

To engage in gossip.

verb

To spread gossip.

Example Sentences

"Every idle Tittle-tattle that went about, Jack was always ſuſpected for the author of it: […]"
"She has trouble enough on her hands, with the affairs of that silly young scapegrace, without being pestered by the tittle-tattle of this place. It is all an invention of that fool, Fribsby."
"And, when rumours about him surfaced in the form of insinuating magazine articles demanding to know why he hadn’t found a wife yet, his wily agent Henry Willson made sure that none of them stuck, even if it meant leaking tittle-tattle about other clients instead."
"If I can once extirpate the race of solid and substantial humdrums, I hope by my wholesome and repeated advices, quickly to reduce the insignificant tittle-tattles and matter-of-fact-men that abound in every quarter of this great city."
"‘I hope you two have been mewed in with that old pussy long enough. While you’ve been tittle-tattling I’ve been doing, — listen to what this bobby’s got to say.’"

Etymology

Reduplication of tattle.

Usage

Inflected Forms

tittle-tattles (plural) tittle-tattles (present, singular) tittle-tattling (participle, present) tittle-tattled (participle, past) tittle-tattled (past)

Phrases

tittle-tattler

Synonyms

chitchat chit-chat chit chat small talk gab gabfest gossip chin wag chin-wag chin wagging chin-wagging causerie

Questions

What does tittle-tattle mean?: Petty, idle gossip.
Where does tittle-tattle come from?: Reduplication of tattle.

How to pronounce tittle-tattle

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