tut
tut — exclamation
1. A sound written or spoken to express mild disapproval, annoyance, or gentle scol
A sound written or spoken to express mild disapproval, annoyance, or gentle scolding. When repeated as 'tut tut', it often carries a slightly humorous or teasing tone.
Tut, you really should not have spoken to your grandmother like that.
tut + direct expression of disapproval
Tut tut, Caleb — we do not throw food at the dinner table.
repeated 'tut tut' for gentle scolding
A quiet 'Tut' came from the back of the classroom when the answer was wrong.
A firm 'Tut tut' from Auntie Mei made the children stop their arguing.
文法句型
tut (tut)
用法筆記
Commonly written in dialogue to show a character's attitude. 'Tut tut' is more likely to be used in light-hearted or humorous contexts, while a single 'tut' can signal genuine annoyance.
tut — verb
1. To make a short clicking sound with the tongue against the roof of the mouth as
To make a short clicking sound with the tongue against the roof of the mouth as a way of showing disapproval, annoyance, or impatience, especially in British English.
The librarian tutted loudly when she saw the coffee cup on the open book.
tut + adverb of manner expressing reaction
Wei tutted under his breath as the bus drove past the stop without slowing down.
My father tutted and folded the newspaper at yet another piece of bad news.
Dewi tutted at her phone screen when the app crashed for the third time.
文法句型
tut + at/about [something]
tut + adverb (quietly/loudly)
用法筆記
The past tense and past participle are 'tutted', and the present participle is 'tutting'. This verb appears almost exclusively in British English narrative writing; American English prefers 'tsk' or just describes the sound.
常見錯誤
tut — noun
1. A short tongue-clicking sound produced to show that you think something is bad,
A short tongue-clicking sound produced to show that you think something is bad, wrong, or disappointing.
A loud tut from the judge made the contestant stop mid-sentence.
a tut + from + person in authority
Rachel ignored her mother's tut and carried on with her story.
There were tuts of disapproval from the audience when the speaker arrived late.
A sharp tut from the librarian made the teenagers lower their voices.
文法句型
a tut
tuts of [disapproval/annoyance]
用法筆記
The noun form is less common than the exclamation or verb. It typically appears in narrative descriptions of group reactions — often in news reports or fiction describing audience or crowd behaviour.