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.
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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
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chats
plural
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an informal conversation.
We had a pleasant chat.
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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 )
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any of various Australian wrens (family Muscicapidae ) of the genus Ephthianura and other genera
verb
-
to talk in an easy familiar way
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to exchange messages in a chatroom
chat
2
British
/ tʃæt /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
chatsimple
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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:
On the other, law enforcement can also request AI conversations, courts can subpoena AI chat logs and chatbots can provide inaccurate information while also flattering people, he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
Much in the same way Slate was early to formats that would come to dominate digital publishing—explainers, deliberately counterintuitive arguments, chat podcasts—so too were we early progenitors of the internet listicle.
From Slate ● Oct. 7, 2026
With her hair pulled up in a colorful scarf, she looks fresh and eager to chat despite a six-hour hike earlier that day.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
No more chat about the search for the elusive goal, no more of that creeping negativity as he waited for a first win.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
Barry couldn’t walk half a block without someone shouting hello from a porch and waving him up for a chat and a glass of iced tea.
From "I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005" by Lauren Tarshis
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
The picture of the boys was a viral TikTok prompt that encouraged users to show images of their group chats.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Mediapart's investigation is built on comments in private chats allegedly written by Bardella in the summer of 2013 when he was 17 or 18 years old.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
What scared Mileva was how unaware she had been of her daughter’s chats.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
Just chats and talks and laughs at his jokes, which aren’t really funny She has lunch at five to twelve.
From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak
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
I chatted with Kendrick for last week’s newsletter, where he mentioned that growing attention on the media company’s content necessitates a different approach than they’ve had in the past.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
As for me, Mrs. Monroe spent the evening petting me and the family chatted with me all night long.
From "Bunnicula" by Deborah Howe and James Howe
Others try to ignore him, browsing their phones, making calls or chatting among themselves.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
The three of them have been chatting with investors for potential funding.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 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
Over just two weeks in April 2026, Anthropic found more than 4,700 different Claude-powered AI characters chatting with at least 25,000 real users, sending about 2.36 million messages in total.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
Uncle Phil starts chatting with a group of guys his age, while my parents introduce themselves to an elderly couple sitting in lawn chairs.
From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day
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.
