jitter

Definition

A nervous action; a tic.

Etymology

Possibly alteration of chitter (“to tremble, shiver”), from Middle English chittern (“to twitter, chatter”). Ultimately onomatopoeic; compare didder and teeter as well as German zittern.

Example Sentences

• "That creepy movie gave me the jitters."
• "But Bolton deserve real credit, seeking to take advantage of their jitters at every opportunity in typically determined fashion."
• "It is a sunny morning in Amman and the three uniformed judges in Jordan’s state security court are briskly working their way through a pile of slim grey folders on the bench before them. Each details the charges against 25 or so defendants accused of supporting the fighters of the Islamic State (Isis), now rampaging across Syria and Iraq under their sinister black banners and sending nervous jitters across the Arab world."

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