tit-for-tat
|tit-for-tat|
🇺🇸
/ˌtɪt.fɚˈtæt/
🇬🇧
/ˌtɪt.fəˈtæt/
reciprocal retaliation
Etymology
'tit-for-tat' originates from English, specifically from an early English phrase often recorded as 'tip for tap' or similar in Middle English, where 'tip'/'tap' referred to a 'blow' or 'strike'.
'tit-for-tat' changed from the Middle English phrase 'tip for tap' (meaning a blow for a blow) and eventually became the modern English phrase 'tit-for-tat' used to describe reciprocal actions.
Initially, it meant 'blow for blow' (a literal exchange of strikes), but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'reciprocal retaliation or equivalent exchange'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a retaliatory action in which an equivalent action is taken in return; reciprocal retaliation or exchange of similar actions.
The dispute escalated into tit-for-tat sanctions between the two countries.
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Adjective 1
done in retaliation or as a reciprocal response; retaliatory.
They imposed tit-for-tat tariffs after the initial trade measures were announced.
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Last updated: 2025/12/28 07:31