dither

1 of 2

verb

dith·​er ˈdi-t͟hər 

dithered; dithering ˈdi-t͟h(ə-)riŋ 

intransitive verb

1

: shiver, tremble

the dithering of grass

—Wallace Stevens

2

: to act nervously or indecisively : vacillate

dithering about what to do next

There's no time to dither.

ditherer

ˈdi-t͟hər-ər 

noun

dither

2 of 2

noun

: a highly nervous, excited, or agitated state : excitement, confusion

The news of her arrival had us all in a dither.

dithery

ˈdi-t͟hə-rē 

adjective

Synonyms

Verb

• balance
• falter
• halt
• hang back
• hesitate
• scruple
• shilly-shally
• stagger
• teeter
• vacillate
• waver
• wobble
• wabble

Noun

• fluster
• fret
• fuss
• huff
• lather
• pother
• stew
• sweat
• swelter
• swivet
• tizzy
• twitter

Examples of dither in a Sentence

Verb

We don't have time to dither.

She did not dither about what to do next.

Noun

Grandma usually gets in a dither if I don't make my weekly call.

we were all in a dither while we waited for the test results

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

When the museum dithered in its response, the group held a sit-in there. —Richard Brody, New Yorker, 6 June 2025

Following her nose to a funeral where Arthur has managed to convince the dithering family to cremate rather than go with burial, Elsbeth has her most down-to-the-wire crime-proving moment yet. —Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 11 Apr. 2025

Noun

While the United States dithers—or seeks to kill incentives that encouraged consumers to buy EVs and automakers to build factories—China continues to innovate through a ruthless blend of competition and government support. —IEEE Spectrum, 6 June 2025

Trump fights lefty judges as Supreme Court dithers. —Jonathan Easley, The Hill, 26 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

variant of didder in same sense (with [dr̥] > [ðr̥] as in father entry 1, gather entry 1), going back to Middle English dideren "to tremble, shiver," of imitative origin

Noun

derivative of dither entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1819, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for dither

• cither
• hither
• ither
• slither
• thither
• whither
• zither

Kids Definition

dither

1 of 2 noun

dith·​er ˈdit͟h-ər 

: a highly nervous or excited state

the news had him in a dither

dithery

-ə-rē

adjective

dither

2 of 2 verb

dithered; dithering

: to act nervously or indecisively