chatter
to talk rapidly in a foolish or purposeless way; jabber.
to utter a succession of quick, inarticulate, speechlike sounds, as monkeys or certain birds.
to make a rapid clicking noise by striking together:His teeth were chattering from the cold.
Machinery. (of a cutting tool or piece of metal) to vibrate during cutting so as to produce surface flaws on the work.
to utter rapidly or purposelessly.
to cause to chatter, as the teeth from cold.
purposeless or foolish talk.
a series of waves or ridges on the surface of a piece of metal that has been imperfectly drawn or extruded.
the act or sound of chattering.
online, phone, radio, or other electronic communication among people, often involving a harmful political activity such as espionage or terrorism: Officials were able to intercept and identify a high level of terrorist chatter in the weeks before the bombing attempt.
Origin of chatter
1Other words for chatter
Other words from chatter
- chat·ter·ing·ly, adverb
- chat·ter·y, adjective
- outchatter, verb (used with object)
- un·chat·ter·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use chatter in a sentence
In the elevator, employees quietly chattered about the gutting of their paper.
Inside the Purge at The Newark Star Ledger, The Paper That Makes Chris Christie Squirm | Olivia Nuzzi | April 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe men chattered jovially but quickly turned sour when asked about the civilian implications of their rudimentary weaponry.
Inside the Free Syrian Army’s ‘Candy Factories,’ the Secret Rebel Arms Workshops | Anna Therese Day | October 23, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTHis teeth still chattered, and spells of violent shivering passed over him from head to foot.
Three More John Silence Stories | Algernon BlackwoodBut the latter caught him by the coat sleeve and held on while she chattered like a magpie to the young college man.
The Campfire Girls of Roselawn | Margaret PenroseHis teeth chattered in his head, and when he rose at dark to continue his journey his tattered clothes were frozen stiff.
The water felt warm at first, but after a while it felt cold, and their fingers ached and their teeth chattered.
Stories of Our Naval Heroes | VariousGlover and Sweeny, two of the most talkative creatures on earth, chattered much to each other.
Overland | John William De Forest
British Dictionary definitions for chatter
/ (ˈtʃætə) /
to speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly; prattle
(intr) (of birds, monkeys, etc) to make rapid repetitive high-pitched noises resembling human speech
(intr) (of the teeth) to click together rapidly through cold or fear
(intr) to make rapid intermittent contact with a component, as in machining, causing irregular cutting
idle or foolish talk; gossip
the high-pitched repetitive noise made by a bird, monkey, etc
the rattling of objects, such as parts of a machine
Also called: chatter mark the undulating pattern of marks in a machined surface from the vibration of the tool or workpiece
Origin of chatter
1Derived forms of chatter
- chattery, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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