the jitters

plural noun

informal

: a very nervous feeling

I always get (a bad case of) the jitters before I have to give a speech.

Examples of the jitters in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Steven Spielberg has the jitters. — Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 9 June 2026

Also, maybe both teams had the jitters in Game 1 and will shoot better in their second night in the same gym for Game 2. — Geoff Clark Outkick, FOXNews.com, 5 June 2026

Staggering capex budgets haven’t stressed investors to the point where AI anxieties consistently outweigh ambitions—even if the jitters can’t be ignored. — Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 5 June 2026

Investors in Blackstone’s flagship private credit fund sought to yank 10% of their money this quarter, showing that the jitters engulfing the industry may be deepening. — Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 4 June 2026

Rhymes for the jitters

• emitters
• outfitters
• steamfitters
• transmitters
• babysitters
• counterfeiters
• bitters
• critters
• fitters
• fritters
• glitters
• hitters