<p><strong>Noun</strong></p><ul><li>the jitters</li><li>nervousness</li><li>a feeling of fright or uneasiness: Every time I have to make a speech, I get the jitters</li><li>fluctuations in the image on a television screen or in copy received by facsimile transmission, caused by interference or by momentary failures of synchronization</li><li>Computers: delay or unevenness in an audio or video signal caused by inconsistency in the interval between the sending and receiving of data packets over a network connection (also used attributively)</li><li>jitter buffer: collects incoming data packets and sends them on to the receiver at a consistent rate</li></ul><p><strong>Verb</strong></p><ul><li>(used without object) to feel or express nervousness or behave nervously: There are some people who jitter about every new technology</li><li>As soon as I’m five minutes late coming home, my parents start jittering</li><li>to move rapidly and unevenly, often with small movements: My heartbeat jittered as I waited for the boss in her office</li><li>I watched as his expert fingers jittered across the keyboard</li><li>(of transmitted images or sounds) to undergo delayed or uneven reception: How can I keep the picture from jittering when I’m gaming?</li><li>to vary or fluctuate slightly: The difference between time allotted and time used will likely jitter by a day or two for each phase of your project</li></ul><p><strong>Verb</strong></p><ul><li>(used with object) to cause to move or shake rapidly, often with small movements: We drove over a rough patch that jittered the car a bit</li><li>He slammed the door so hard it jittered the window blinds</li><li>Computers: to intentionally introduce slight variation or fluctuation in (digital images or sounds) in order to achieve a desired effect; stagger or offset: I had the program jitter the data points to avoid overlap when graphing the results</li><li>You can create a trailing blur behind a moving object if you jitter the object, dimming it at each successive position</li></ul>