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.
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.
any of several small Old World thrushes, especially of the genus Saxicola, having a chattering cry.
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
to talk in an easy familiar way
to exchange messages in a chatroom
First recorded in 1400–50; (verb) late Middle English chatt(e); short for chatter
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.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Legislative proposals range from mandatory age verification for games with chat features to bills that would impose national safety standards.
From Barron's • Jun. 7, 2026
Shae first had to book a business-class ticket, then confirm through Emirates’s online chat that a first-class upgrade was actually available before pulling the trigger.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 5, 2026
Hasbro realized that unauthorized iterations of its brands would inevitably surface—as some already have—across chat, voice, gaming and content-creation platforms as AI-native experiences become increasingly commonplace.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026
"I sit and chat to everybody and anybody."
From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026
Cat didn’t want to talk to him, so she decided to video chat Mom.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
