Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To laugh in a restrained, nervous way; giggle.
  • noun A nervous giggle.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To move back and forth; sway; waver.
  • To teeter; seesaw.
  • To tremble.
  • noun A weed, probably the hairy vetch. See tine.
  • To laugh in a restrained or nervous manner, as from suppressed mirth, pleasure, or embarrassment; giggle; snicker.
  • noun A restrained or nervous laugh; a giggle; a snicker. There's a titter of winds in that beechen tree.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A restrained laugh.
  • transitive verb To laugh with the tongue striking against the root of the upper teeth; to laugh with restraint, or without much noise; to giggle.
  • intransitive verb To seesaw. See teeter.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A nervous or repressed giggle.
  • verb To laugh or giggle in a somewhat subdued manner.
  • verb obsolete To teeter; to seesaw.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb laugh nervously
  • noun a nervous restrained laugh

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Probably imitative.]

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Examples

  • Her standing out in the room was the signal for a convulsed titter from the other prisoners.

    Prisons and Prisoners: Some Personal Experiences 1914

  • "Prefer chaney to cricket?" asked Urquhart's uncle, with his agreeable laugh that was too attractive to be described as a titter, a name that its high, light quality might have suggested.

    The Lee Shore Rose Macaulay 1919

  • Or rather, she read the first two pages, gave the kind of titter that frightens dogs and small children, then announced with finality, Well, you have some good lines here.

    Author! Author! » 2008 » March 2008

  • Suddenly curious noise, that I'm told is known as a titter, interrupted me, and, before I had quite finished, there was a boisterous roar of laughter. "

    Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 104, March 11, 1893 Various 1876

  • I so remember that product, and how the name tanked it when the AIDS crisis hit … and how the product made some kids in high school titter. o_O

    Getting Skinny With Ayds - The Retroist 2010

  • It was such a welcome release of tension that both of them started to titter, which succeeded in drawing curious looks at the pair of laughing loonys.

    Western Man Janet Dailey 2011

  • It was such a welcome release of tension that both of them started to titter, which succeeded in drawing curious looks at the pair of laughing loonys.

    Western Man Janet Dailey 2011

  • It would seem to be a born of the same zeitgeist that brought us Avenue Q; our desire to titter at the incongruity of naughty and innocent.

    Erika Milvy: Oh, Naughty Muppets. What Would Jim Henson Think of You Now?W Erika Milvy 2011

  • "This came in the morning post," he ventured apologetically and with the hint of a titter.

    Winged Blackmail 2010

  • Instead of manic tears flowing down their cheeks, each little titter was weighed and savored; good God, she said one night

    The Last Beach Heather Con Chapman 2011

Comments

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  • The adult version of twitter.

    May 15, 2009

  • laugh covertly ,, chanamana hasavu,,,

    March 25, 2013