Verb The birds were twittering in the trees. A robin twittered its morning song. What are those people twittering about? Noun The twitter of songbirds filled the air. our grandmother gets all in a twitter if she doesn't get her weekly phone call right on time
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Yet the roosters crow, the church bell sounds the hour, a dog barks somewhere, spring birds twitter in song. Arthur Longworth, The New York Review of Books, 12 Apr. 2020 Its title alluded to the loss of twittering birds from natural habitats because of indiscriminate pesticide use, and the treatise spawned the modern conservation movement. Jim Daley, Scientific American, 19 Sep. 2019 Unable to figure it out, the politicians have turned themselves into twittering mice on the floors of Parliament and Congress. Daniel Henninger, WSJ, 16 Jan. 2019 The orchestra plays with extremes to create tension, setting high, twittering woodwinds against groaning brass. Heidi Waleson, WSJ, 22 Oct. 2018 There, water gurgled in a fountain, a bird twittered in a cage, and the smell of Chinese herbs filled the air. Moises Velasquez-manoff, WIRED, 8 May 2018
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English twiteren; akin to Old High German zwizzirōn to twitter