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
-
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
-
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:
There are intuitive caveats, he noted—such as using a private message to chat with CEO Marc Benioff about an acquisition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
“Really good defender. Had a good chat with him earlier. … he’s happy to be back in the big leagues.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
Solomon will go up against the Geordie duo for this year's gong as well as Sir David Attenborough in his 100th birthday year, Traitors and chat show host Claudia Winkleman and Alison Hammond.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
“Any time River gets any kind of small win, I’m delighted for him,” Lowden said in a video chat from his parents’ home in Scotland.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
She tried to make up reasons for why he wanted to chat.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
During extended chats with the UK media, one journalist asked, pointedly and with persistence, about realistic targets for the season ahead and questioned the club's willingness to spend enough to achieve them.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
That idea sent me down a rabbit hole involving real-estate agents, tiny shoebox apartments and frustrating chats with mortgage brokers.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
There were whistles, Signal chats, legal observers, carpools, rent funds, and grocery deliveries.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Customers are overflowing the gym’s official group chats.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
I figured out after our last two chats how you keep asking me questions so that I'll ramble on, and then you don't have to write so much.
From "Doing Time Online" by Jan Siebold
Burnham has also chatted while on a jog with popular athlete Farah, who has millions of followers across social media platforms.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
"I walked and chatted to some of them in shock really," the 54-year-old jewellery maker said.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
The men have chatted about oil markets and Venezuela.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
Recently he chatted with The Times to discuss the process of continuing the fest’s revival and why it’s still a vital part of the summer festival ecosystem.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
After all the introductions, Momma pulled me inside while Brent chatted and soaked up compliments.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
Stokes was a hands-on skipper, always chatting and encouraging, but Root quietly observed.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Becerra spoke with reporters after visiting Little Tokyo businesses and chatting with locals and visitors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
Before arriving in France, where she planned to spend a year, Foster messaged French speakers to practice chatting in that language.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
On the stream, two men on a motorbike can be seen riding up to César Gastélum, who is chatting to two friends outside a fast food restaurant in the city of Culiacán.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
When beggars came to the temple from down the mountain, Father Cham received them as if they were visiting nobles, feeding them and chatting with them for long hours.
From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat
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.
