dither

/ˈdɪðə/

//ˈdɪðə// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"dither" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dither” is uncommon English (frequency #83,191 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#83,191
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To tremble, shake, or shiver.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dither · dither · English

dither · rank #83,191 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #83,191
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH discourteous

Nearest frequency peer: discourteous (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “dither”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “dither” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for dither
PropertyValue
Headworddither
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈdɪðə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#83,191
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “dither” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).ditherfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “discourteous” (#83,190), “doff” (#83,192), “discotheque” (#83,189). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “dither” is #83,191. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

dither is uncommon English at frequency #83,191 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈdɪðə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for dither, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Variant of didder, from Middle English dideren (“to tremble”). Compare Middle English bididren, bididdren (“to seduce, deceive”), from Old English bedidrian, bedyderian (“to deceive, trick”). Alternatively, perhaps with expressive voicing from *titeren, fro… The correct English form is dither, spelled D-I-T-H-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    To tremble, shake, or shiver.
  2. 2
    To be uncertain or unable to make a decision; to vacillate, hesitate, or delay.
  3. 3
    To do something nervously.
  4. 4
    To apply an algorithm to digital data to minimize the effects of quantization:
  5. 5
    To apply an algorithm to digital data to minimize the effects of quantization:

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how dither appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Presently he came running out of the scullery, with the soapy water dripping from him, dithering with cold.
  2. 2012, The Economist, Sept. 22nd issue, "Indian Reform: At Last" The dithering Mr Singh of recent times may worry that his reform proposals are already too bold. The reforming Mr Singh of yore would see them as just the start.

Etymology

Variant of didder, from Middle English dideren (“to tremble”). Compare Middle English bididren, bididdren (“to seduce, deceive”), from Old English bedidrian, bedyderian (“to deceive, trick”). Alternatively, perhaps with expressive voicing from *titeren, from Proto-Germanic *titrōną. If so, then a doublet of teeter and cognate with Old High German zittarōn (German zittern) and Old Norse titra (Faroese titra, Icelandic titra). Alternatively an unrelated reduplicative onomatopoeia.

This word in other languages

tramage(Français)zittern(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "dither"?
"dither" is spelled D-I-T-H-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdɪðə/.
What does "dither" mean?
As a verb, "dither" means: To tremble, shake, or shiver.
How do you pronounce "dither"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dither" is /ˈdɪðə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "dither"?
Variant of didder, from Middle English dideren (“to tremble”). Compare Middle English bididren, bididdren (“to seduce, deceive”), from Old English bedidrian, bedyderian (“to deceive, trick”). Alternatively, perhaps with expressive voicing from *ti... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "dither", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Dremel#83,200duckie#83,203ductal#83,204Edberg#83,210

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list