chat
verb (used without object)
to converse in a familiar or informal manner.
chat
1 American
[chat]
/ tʃæt /
verb (used without object)
-
chats,
present (3rd person singular)
-
chatted,
past participle, past
-
chatting
present participle
-
to converse in a familiar or informal manner.
-
Digital Technology. to participate with one or more people, through the internet, in a real-time conversation, typically as a series of short text exchanges in a specific application, as instant messaging, or by using images, voice, video, or some combination of these.
The kids were able to chat with their grandma online.
Join our online community to chat about TV shows.
noun
-
chats
plural
-
an informal conversation.
We had a pleasant chat.
-
Digital Technology. a real-time conversation between two or more people over the internet or another computer network.
Join our free video chat. Have a live chat with one of our customer service representatives.
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any of several small Old World thrushes, especially of the genus Saxicola, having a chattering cry.
adjective
verb phrase
Chât.
2
American
abbreviation
chat
1
British
/ tʃæt /
noun
-
informal conversation or talk conducted in an easy familiar manner
-
the exchange of messages in an internet or other network chatroom
-
any Old World songbird of the subfamily Turdinae (thrushes, etc) having a harsh chattering cry See also stonechat whinchat
-
any of various North American warblers, such as Icteria virens ( yellow-breasted chat )
-
any of various Australian wrens (family Muscicapidae ) of the genus Ephthianura and other genera
verb
-
to talk in an easy familiar way
-
to exchange messages in a chatroom
chat
2
British
/ tʃæt /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
chatsimple
-
chatssimple
-
have chattedperfect
-
has chattedperfect
-
am chattingprogressive
-
are chattingprogressive
-
is chattingprogressive
-
have been chattingperfect progressive
-
has been chattingperfect progressive
Past
-
chattedsimple
-
had chattedperfect
-
was chattingprogressive
-
were chattingprogressive
-
had been chattingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of chat
First recorded in 1400–50; (verb) late Middle English chatt(e); short for chatter
Explanation
When you chat, you have a brief, casual conversation. You might chat with your mail carrier when she delivers a package to your door. If you're in a talkative mood, you can chat with your roommate, the bus driver, your boss, and a drugstore cashier all before lunchtime. The conversation that happens when you chat is also called a chat: "Let's sit down and have a chat sometime this week." The earliest meaning of chat was "frivolous talk," which now is more likely to be called chatter or chitchat.
Vocabulary lists containing chat
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
After the service, two members of the congregation stopped to chat.
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
When I started looking for people to chat with for this piece, I expected to find only a handful interested.
From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2026
Lane described the cloud communications platform Twilio — which allows businesses to add voice, text, chat and other features to their software —as a neutral aggregator of the agent boom.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 17, 2026
Vincer sent the proposal, which was on Nxum letterhead, to Ardoino on the encrypted messaging app Keet in a group chat that included Dennis, according to messages reviewed by the Journal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
“I mean, it’s one thing if you don’t want to video chat, but you’re not ready for names? After two months?”
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
They sent updates on group chats, posting emoji-filled messages saying "we are safe!" and photos of their children doing schoolwork underground.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
From online influencers to Reddit threads and group chats, it’s not the first time discussions have sparked around whose responsibility it is to teach young boys about consent, boundaries and rape culture.
From Salon ● Oct. 18, 2026
Parents who link their accounts can set times when ChatGPT can’t be used and schedule study hours when the teens’ chats start in study mode.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Meta says later this year it will offer a confidential virtual machine that encrypts data so the company can’t access the chats.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Mitchell, she looks forward to your chats more than anything else here.
From "Doing Time Online" by Jan Siebold
He mingled for hours with Carlyle executives and other existing and potential clients, who at times chatted among themselves about their investment experiences.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
A builder I chatted to at the gym reckoned they would be useful on sites for recording what he was doing, either in the event of an accident or even to teach others new skills.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
There, he says, he chatted with strangers who told him they were taking the same precaution following a recent home invasion in Comanche.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Osborn chatted with Pemberton, who said he remains undecided how he will vote in November.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
Limber crawled into a tide pool, and she and Roz chatted over the sounds of crashing waves.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
Trevarthen explained that her father and the astronaut got chatting and her father mentioned she was a teacher.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
Players were milling around midfield, exchanging jerseys and making small talk when Chubb appeared to say something to Jackson, who was chatting with another Bills player.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
Her daughter soon saw it as a confidante, chatting with Gemini and Google Search’s AI Mode chatbot for hours on her personal devices and her Chromebook.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
But the mics also picked up reporters chatting, and embarrassing comments went beyond their frequent use of the hyper-localized and outdated NorCal modifier “hella.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026
I guess the thought of chatting with a random postal worker is too much for my brain this afternoon.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
