Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To twitter or chatter, as a bird.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To chirp; twitter.
- To shiver; shake, as with cold.
- To chatter.
- n. In coalmining, a seam of coal separated from another by a thin band of shale or clay.
- n. A thin stratum of clay ironstone.
- n. The chattering or twittering of birds.
Wiktionary
- v. To make a series of high-pitched sounds; to twitter, chirp or chatter.
- v. obsolete, Scotland To shiver or chatter with cold.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. obsolete To chirp in a tremulous manner, as a bird.
- v. Scot. To shiver or chatter with cold.
WordNet 3.0
- v. make high-pitched sounds, as of birds
Etymologies
- From Middle English word chiteron. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English chiteren, of imitative origin. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The moment his eyes fell upon madam of the fluffy hair, he burst out with a loud, rapid woodpecker "chitter," gradually growing higher in key and louder in tone.”
“Assistant Commissioner Lynne Owens told the panel that "chitter chatter" emerged of planned rioting and looting in Stratford, East London, the location of the Olympic site.”
The Wall Street Journal: U.K. Police Say Unrest Averted at Olympic Site
“Yes | No | Report from shermanator wrote 7 weeks 2 days ago thats how i do it i walk and stop and listen if i hear chitter chatter i look or like he said corn works great man it is fun and i hate to say it its pretty good eating”
I just got my liscense and my dad isnt a hunter so i get all of my answers from here.
“They gasp, Helena with them, and chitter amongst themselves.”
“Hello and good morning and welcome to this January 23rd edition of your Sunday morning liveblog of these political chitter-chat shows that we are forced to contend with in order to understand the minds of your political figures (addled) and the men and women who cover them (needy).”
“Welcome to the liveblog of the political chitter-chat shows that we are forced to contend with in order to understand the minds of your political figures (addled) and the men and women who cover them (needy).”
“They chitter, chatter and chirrup, twitching their tails as if they were furry lariats.”
The Washington Post: In the urban game park, nut-gatherers rule
“I ate lunch with the kids – watched the casual trading of a crush cup for a bag of sun chips, the sharing of carrots, the nascent flirting and the chitter chatter.”
“A Buddhist who sits cross-legged and chants every morning and night, Taryn had been toting a travel-size altar back and forth from Los Angeles to Hawaii, which she credits for "quieting her mind from all the chitter chatter.”
“She says, “no personal calls,” but you constantly hear her the chitter-chatter of mindless phone babble emanating from her office.”
6 Horrendous Leadership Types | Motivational Humor from the Motivational Smart Ass!
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘chitter’.
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Of Imitative Origin
Words formed in imitation of the sound of the things they signify.
bawl, biff, blizzard, blob, blooper, bob, boff, bomb, bonkers, boo, borborygmus, brouhaha and 148 more...
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In the Collieries
A collection of coal mining and colliery terms. Some British, some Scots, and some, Other. Many terms are quite to the point; others colorful and imaginative.
Also see Middlesmith's li...fire-damp, black-damp, choke-damp, skip, basket, gallery, Gregory lamp, pit, balance, balancer, tenter, coupler and 313 more...
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Animal voices
wuff, snort, chirp, baa, moo, meow, oink, bark, woof, grr, purr, hiss and 24 more...
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Sounds
Shhh! Listen! Did you hear that?
tintinnabulous, susurration, ululation, pandemonium, keening, tinkle, clang, caterwaul, twangle, twank, din, rumble and 34 more...
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MiaLuthien's list ♥
gambit, prehensile, coquetry, impunity, genuflect, ensconce, clavicle, delude, beget, castigate, life caching, convoluted and 478 more...
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The Golem's Eye
Words and phrases from Jonathan Stroud's book, The Golem's Eye.
ordure, widdershins, cop, stipple, ostler, struts, minaret, chemise, remonstrate, concussion, wicket, vamoose and 249 more...
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animal sound verbs
limited to non-onomatopoeic words
chitter, gibber, hum, buzz, chirrup, mew, whistle, boom, bellow, caterwaul, fink, low and 49 more...
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The Octopus
Words gleaned from Frank Norris's 1901 novel The Octopus
deerhound, diapason, thitherward, chitter, unsteady, wiper, overspire, inanition, sheen, hiccough, quirt, broncho and 44 more...
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Discordial
Annoying, loud, or awful sounds.
portamento, scroop, clangor, plangent, stentorian, hubbub, cacophony, burble, guggle, donder, sough, racket and 82 more...
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Words that sound nice
liquidation, allspice, moonshine, starshine, bumble, arouse, kindle, valiant, chitter, Gypsy, feral, evanescent and 21 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for chitter.
yarb From the direction of the ticket window, Presley heard the unsteady chittering of the telegraph key.
- Frank Norris, The Octopus, ch. 1 Aug 8, 2008