MEANING
To make a series of quick, thin, high-pitched sounds.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- squirrels chitter
- a chittering call
On the page
Squirrels chittered above the path as the dog approached.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- chitter
- Past tense
- chittered
- Past participle
- chittered
- Present participle
- chittering
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- chitter
- Present continuous
- am/is/are chittering
- Present perfect
- have/has chittered
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been chittering
- Past
- chittered
- Past continuous
- was/were chittering
- Past perfect
- had chittered
- Past perfect continuous
- had been chittering
- Future
- will chitter
- Future continuous
- will be chittering
- Future perfect
- will have chittered
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been chittering
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: sensory / description. Forms: chitter; chitters; chittered; chittered; chittering Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: description. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: chitters.
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