Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Informal A foolishly annoying person.
- noun A reproach, gibe, or taunt.
- transitive verb To taunt, ridicule, or tease, especially for embarrassing mistakes or faults.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A thin, weak place in a thread of wool, cotton, etc.
- To reproach; upbraid, especially with, past follies, errors, or offenses; annoy by reproaches; taunt.
- To charge or reproach with; upbraid on account of; bring forward as a taunt.
- Synonyms Chaff, Mock, etc. See
taunt . - noun A reproach; a taunt; an upbraiding or gibing reminder or insinuation.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To vex by bringing to notice, or reminding of, a fault, defect, misfortune, or the like; to revile; to reproach; to upbraid; to taunt.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive To
reproach ,blame ; toridicule ortease . - verb transitive, computing To
ignore orkillfile (a user on abulletin board system ). - noun A
reproach ,gibe ortaunt . - noun A
foolish orannoying person.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun aggravation by deriding or mocking or criticizing
- noun someone who is regarded as contemptible
- verb harass with persistent criticism or carping
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The Tampa twit is a big fan since he is now the second stupidest troll at Think Progress, now that Big John has showed up.
Think Progress » Did Palin write the answers to Tea Party Convention questions on her hand? 2010
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Twitter has earned plenty of developer ire for its release of official products that will likely quash those offered by independent players in its historically vibrant developer community, and its policing of third-party applications that include the word "twit" or "tweet" has had plenty of opponents as well.
CNET News.com 2011
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That twit is such phony outrage and hypocrisy personified …
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January 3rd, 2010 11: 10 am ET so what this twit is saying is someone had to be killed before it is lile 9/11. how dare he make light of peoples lives. this should not be happening any time there is an attempt it should be considered like 9/11. the only difference is 9/11 did happen, and with the christmas attempt the citzens on the plane were the ones who stopped the attempt.
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This self aggrandizing twit is convinced that she's on the road to sainthood.
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I can't believe this twit is dectiating what the healthcare should and should not be.
Lieberman: I'll back health care bill without Medicare expansion 2009
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Read's latest twit is that he is on Eurostar going where there is no Internet, so he won't be able to answer any questions.
Here's a challenge for the local press in Norfolk Norfolk Blogger 2009
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Most celebrity blogs only contain twit-level content anyways and seeing how popular some are (see: Kamiji Yusuke), I can see Japanese people checking their keitai for the latest updates on their favorite celebs.
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So, this little twit is making a value judgment about two performers based on hearing only one song that one of them performed?
Adam Lambert Responds To Clay Aiken Controversy — “He Can Ride My Coattails” 2009
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A quitter, lier, cheater, hater, bigot, uneducated ... ... ... twit is what these people think is their future?
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The ‘twit bit’ is a flag that basically labels a user as a “loser,” in BBS parlance.
Where Did the Concept of 'Shadow Banning' Come From? Samantha Cole 2024
sarra commented on the word twit
It's not! Neither is prat, twat or twerp. It's a very common urban legend (I heard it when I was very small).
May 7, 2008
whichbe commented on the word twit
I wonder at what point misinformation like this becomes 'fact'. After all, when it comes to names of things, we might ask "according to whom?"
May 8, 2008
mollusque commented on the word twit
Goldfish lay eggs. They can't get pregnant.
May 8, 2008
whichbe commented on the word twit
Ah, then the 'twit' is ironic. (points to self)
May 8, 2008
asativum commented on the word twit
Surely if silence can be pregnant, a goldfish can be too...
May 8, 2008
sionnach commented on the word twit
I had a goldfish named Chad. After Tiffany brought her goldfish, Rebecca, over for a sleepover, we discovered the we had a pregnant Chad on our hands.
Chad was the son of a very famous, but strict, federal judge, known as hanging Chad.
May 8, 2008
mollusque commented on the word twit
And since silence is golden...
May 9, 2008
yarb commented on the word twit
Twits with bells on their ankles
belt each other with pig bladders.
- Peter Reading, Almanac, from Nothing for Anyone, 1977
June 26, 2008
frogapplause commented on the word twit
I'm in the mood for a pig-bladder fight RIGHT NOW!
June 26, 2008
bilby commented on the word twit
*whumps frogapplause with a pig bladder*
June 26, 2008
Prolagus commented on the word twit
Hey, there's life on Mars...
June 26, 2008
Prolagus commented on the word twit
*gets a pig bladder in his face by accident, and can finally sleep*
June 26, 2008
reesetee commented on the word twit
*checks pockets*
*checks pockets again*
Darn. Where's that pig bladder when you need it?
June 26, 2008
lea commented on the word twit
BTW: The goldfish are not silent, pregnant or not. Two quotes from the animal communication group at Facebook:Goldfish are surprisingly chatty! Whenever we head to Walmart, I stop to talk with the fish. The goldfish are all so talkative and giddy. So are our golden dojo loaches and the irridescent sharks. -- I had two golden dojo's, they were amazing! I loved sitting in front of the aquarium and talk to them for hours. They were truly wonderful to speak with. I had a gold fish that lived for over 8 years, he was very talkative as well." Things are not always as they seem to be.
March 10, 2009
knitandpurl commented on the word twit
I knew this word as a noun but not as a verb - until I read this:
"The view from the bridge over the Serpentine has an extraordinary nobleness, and it has often seemed to me that the Londoner twitted with his low standard may point to it with every confidence."
English Hours by Henry James, p 10 of the Oxford University Press paperback edition
September 12, 2010
fbharjo commented on the word twit
What a margaritaceous comment! It's thinful!
September 12, 2010
fbharjo commented on the word twit
a weak place to cotton to(o) (near( and dear)) ! It is thinfull! (Oh so fine a find!)
November 20, 2012
alexz commented on the word twit
Short for Twitter the app, or the verb to tweet. twit and snap
June 13, 2016
shanvrolijk commented on the word twit
"“like a pretentious twit.”"
Source: What does it mean for a journalist today to be a Serious Reader?
January 22, 2018