tat·tle
| \ ˈta-tᵊl
\
\
tattled; tattling\
ˈtat-liŋ
, ˈta-tᵊl-iŋ
\
, ˈta-tᵊl-iŋ
\
Definition of tattle
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to utter or disclose in gossip or chatter
tattle
nounKeep scrolling for more
Examples of tattle in a Sentence
Verb
those neighborhood busybodies, constantly tattling and whispering over their backyard fences
Noun
she claims to have picked up some juicy tattle about the candidate
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
In essence, said Richard Scott Carnell, a former Treasury Department official, Molyneux was selling Euro Pacific as a firm that will not tattle to tax authorities.
—
Matthew Goldstein, New York Times, "Chasing Illicit Money, Global Officials Circle a Puerto Rican Firm," 19 Oct. 2020
The email was, in effect, asking residents to tattle on each other for failing to socially distance.
—
Jacob Stern, The Atlantic, "A Senior Home’s ‘Drastic Step’ to Enforce Social Distancing," 21 Apr. 2020
Polling his colleagues, Fowler found that sites had tattled to Facebook about their visits to a sperm measurement service, medical insurers and a credit agency.
—
Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, "Facebook’s ‘Clear History’ button is basically a farce," 3 Feb. 2020
Priests, seminarians and former seminarians described in interviews a climate of self-censure, with men often tattling on one another and gossiping rather than speaking openly.
—
Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post, "Catholic seminarians are newly speaking out about sexual misconduct — and being shunned as a result," 4 Oct. 2019
Turns out some professor just made a funny on Twitter calling Stephens a bedbug (context: the Times has bedbugs) and the latter lost his mind over it and tried to get the poor guy fired by tattling to his provost.
—
Michael Andor Brodeur, BostonGlobe.com, "Bed bugs, tan suits, baked beans, and kombucha," 30 Aug. 2019
Back with the guys, Garrett’s ready to tattle on Luke P., telling the men that — as expected — Luke was dishonest with them.
—
Joyce Chen, refinery29.com, "The Bachelorette Season 15, Week 6 Recap: It's A Trap!," 20 June 2019
Today, members get called into bishops’ offices because someone tattled about a private Facebook post.
—
Sarah Scoles, Longreads, "Meet the New Mormons," 8 June 2018
Rather, children’s tattling was entirely focused on informing the victim about the transgression and/or the transgressor.
—
Scott Berson, charlotteobserver, "Lots of kids tattletale - but maybe that's a good thing, study says | Charlotte Observer," 6 Apr. 2018
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Lady Whistledown, the pseudonymous writer of Bridgerton’s tittle-tattle rag, is voiced by Julie Andrews, just as the CW’s mysterious blogger had Kristen Bell as its narrator.
—
Elise Taylor, Vogue, "Bridgerton: The Real-Life Lady Whistledowns of Regency-Era England," 25 Dec. 2020
The following day there was an article in the Washington Post — and instant tittle-tattle everywhere: the president had been planning to meet Solzhenitsyn but had been persuaded not to, and there would only be a lunch with a group of dissidents.
—
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, National Review, "An Encounter Sabotaged," 17 Nov. 2020
For all her tattle, Mrs. Tittlemouse knew not of the coronavirus pivot.
—
Chris Jones, chicagotribune.com, "Review: At Chicago Children’s Theatre’s 'Beatrix Potter Drive-In,’ the pint-sized people in the back seat get their due," 11 Oct. 2020
Google no longer has to worry about Microsoft tattle-telling on its powerful ad business.
—
Washington Post, "Bing’s Not the Laughingstock of Technology Anymore," 31 May 2019
But some of the most salacious tittle-tattle originates from inside the palace.
—
K.j. Yossman, Marie Claire, "Inside the Cutthroat World of Royal Gossips," 5 Sep. 2019
His weekly, Next, which began as a print magazine but now has only a digital edition, writes a lot about celebrities and covers local tittle-tattle, but also provides unstinting support for the protests.
—
Andrew Higgins, New York Times, "A Hong Kong ‘Troublemaker’ With a Clean Conscience," 23 Aug. 2019
That letter was copied and circulated widely (a common practice in the 1600s), and a copy found its way into the hands of a tattle-tale Dominican friar named Niccolò Lorini.
—
Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Newly discovered letter by Galileo resolves puzzling historical mystery," 22 Sep. 2018
Gordon-Levitt voices Slowen Lo, the tattle-tale alien with the thick southern drawl, who complains about Finn and Rose parking their shuttle on the beach of Canto Bight.
—
Scott Meslow, GQ, "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," 18 Dec. 2017
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tattle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Learn More about tattle
Dictionary Entries near tattle
See More Nearby EntriesStatistics for tattle
Look-up Popularity
Cite this Entry
“Tattle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tattle. Accessed 3 Mar. 2021.
Style: MLA
MLA
Chicago
APA
Merriam-Webster
Chicago
APA
Merriam-Webster
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for tattle
tattle
verb
English Language Learners Definition of tattle
chiefly US, informal
: to tell a parent, teacher, etc., about something bad or wrong that another child has done
See the full definition for tattle in the English Language Learners Dictionary
tattle
verb
tat·tle
| \ ˈta-tᵊl
\
\
tattled; tattling
Kids Definition of tattle
: to tell on someone
Comments on tattle
What made you want to look up tattle? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
February 2021 Words of the Day Quiz
-
- Which is a synonym of perdure?
Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!
TAKE THE QUIZ
Spell words. Make bears.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Words at Play
Ask the Editors
Share tattle
Time Traveler for tattle
The first known use of tattle was circa 1529
See more words from the same year