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I know that "tit" means nipple, and can be used to refer the to the breast as a whole, and has a few unrelated meanings.

But can it be used in a normal context to mean a man's nipples, or only a woman's nipples?

I've heard of the expression "As useless as tits on a bull", but it's a derogatory expression, so I don't know if it's a good example.

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    Man tit or man boob, though being slang and can be considered rude and offensive, is used. (I can remember hearing it on a medical reality show.)
    – Damkerng T.
    May 3, 2014 at 8:19
  • Yes and no. Can it be used? Sure, it could. Is it used in a normal context? Not usually. You can Google for expressions like on his tit or under his tit and find a smattering of examples, like this one. (If you want to conduct your own search, I'll just caution: since the term is generally considered vulgar, many of the results you find will be from vulgar contexts. It's not a gentleman's term.)
    – J.R. ♦
    May 3, 2014 at 8:58

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I don't think so. tit typically means a woman's breast.

tit - a woman's breast. Also here and here.

If you want to refer to a man's breast, it'd be 'man's boob' or gynecomastia. But then if you quote this term, you are no longer referring to a flat chest or nipples on a flat chest that I think you are concerned about. That's because when we refer a body part as a boob, it is never flat. That's why, men don't have boobs but a flat chest. When they are enlarged, the condition is referred to as gynecomastia.

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  • That's strange - I thought it had a primary meaning of "nipple", and "breast" was a secondary meaning, and that the secondary meaning was a synecdoche.
    – Andrew Grimm
    May 3, 2014 at 7:05
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    @AndrewGrimm no, tit generally refers to the whole breast; teat which is by some pronounced identically to tit refers to the nipple, which may be a source of some confusion. I've always assumed teat is the etymological ancestor of tit but I don't actually know that.
    – Codeswitcher
    May 3, 2014 at 7:26
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    That's the right word, but on a learner's forum, it might be worth noting that gynecomastia is reserved almost exclusively for a medical context. Also, the question is asking about a man's nipple, not a man's breast.
    – J.R. ♦
    May 3, 2014 at 8:51
  • @J.R. Agreed. I introduced that term purely to specify man boob. Also, I clarified that what he meant by tit is different than what's it specified in the dictionaries. I tried answering with multiple approaches since to OP, tit exclusively meant a 'nipple' (from his comment and I had guessed it!).
    – Maulik V
    May 3, 2014 at 9:02
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I'd not use tit to refer to a man, if not for joking.

Noun. 1. (Anatomy) a female breast 2. (Anatomy) a teat or nipple 3. a girl or young woman

Source: Collins Dictionary.

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