Tit For Tat Definition

noun

Repayment in kind, as for an injury; retaliation.

American Heritage

This for that.

Webster's New World

(idiomatic) Equivalent retribution, an eye for an eye, returning exactly what you get.

If you hit me, I'll hit you back; tit for tat.

Wiktionary

(Cockney rhyming slang) Hat.

Wiktionary

Synonyms:

adjective

Having the characteristic of returning bad for bad.

Unfortunately, many adults retain a tit-for-tat attitude, but in a more refined way than the simple, childish shove for shove.

Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Tit For Tat

Singular:

tit for tat

Plural:

tit-for-tats

Origin uncertain: conjectured to be related to "dit voor dat" - Dutch for "this for that", "tip for tap" (i.e. a blow for a blow), or French "tant pour tant" (equal for equal) - The Wordsworth Dictionary of Idioms - Eds. Elizabeth McLaren Kirkpatrick, Catherine M. Schwarz, 1993

From Wiktionary
Probably alteration of tip for tap

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition