# twitter

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈtwɪtə/ · frequency rank #1,584

## Definitions
1. The sound of a succession of chirps as uttered by birds.
2. Unwanted flicker that occurs in interlaced displays when the image contains vertical detail that approaches the horizontal resolution of the video format.
3. A tremulous broken sound.
4. A slight trembling of the nerves.
5. Chiefly in the form in a twitter: a state of excitement or nervousness; a twit.

## Etymology
From Middle English twitren, twiteren, from Old English *twiterian, from Proto-West Germanic *twitwiʀōn, from Proto-Germanic *twitwizōną (“to chirp; twitter”). Cognate with Low German twitteren (“to twitter”), German zwitzern, zwitschern (“to twitter”). Compare also Dutch kwetteren (“to twitter”), Danish kvidre (“to twitter”), Swedish kvittra (“to twitter”), dialectal Swedish tittra (“to twitter”).

## Easily confused with
- **twisted** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/twisted-vs-twitter)
- **twister** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/twister-vs-twitter)
- **trotter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/trotter-vs-twitter)
- **tweeter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tweeter-vs-twitter)

## Common misspellings (9)
`tiwtter`, `ttwitter`, `twiter`, `twitetr`, `twitterr`, `twittre`, `twtiter`, `twwitter`, `wtitter`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/twitter