chatterbox

American  

[chat-er-boks] / ˈtʃæt ərˌbɒks /

noun

1. an excessively talkative person.

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chatterbox British  

/ ˈtʃætəˌbɒks /

noun

1. informal a person who talks constantly, esp about trivial matters

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Etymology

Origin of chatterbox

First recorded in 1765–75; i.e., person whose voice box chatters constantly

Explanation

A chatterbox is a person who tends to use a whole lot of words without having much of anything to say. If you're constantly whispering to your friend during math class, your annoyed teacher might call you a chatterbox. The informal word chatterbox is the perfect term for the annoying, incessant talker you always seem to end up sitting next to on long plane trips. Chatterbox dates from the 1770s, a combination of chatter, an echoic or onomatopoeic word, and box, giving chatterbox the sense of "a box or container full of idle chatter."

Example Sentences

John went on to set up Chatterbox, a men's mental health charity and a health walking group, to battle the effects of the pandemic.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2022

She reports on how teachers are exasperated by her talkativeness, setting her a series of punishment essays titled A Chatterbox, then An Incorrigible Chatterbox, and finally Quack, quack, quack, said Mistress Chatterback.

From The Guardian • May 25, 2019

I’m A Chatterbox stayed with her throughout the backstretch then started to fade in the far turn just as Beholder started to rally.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 4, 2016

So I was startled to read this Chatterbox column, in which Timothy Noah asked five Washington Post reporters what those phrases mean and none of them could give him a straight answer.

From Slate • Sep. 22, 2016

Maybe she had read a poem from Chatterbox with gestures.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck