chat up
Britishverb
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to talk flirtatiously to (a person), esp with the intention of seducing him or her
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to talk persuasively to (a person), esp with an ulterior motive
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Talk flirtatiously to, as in Leave it to Charlie to chat up the girls . This usage is mostly but not entirely British. [Late 1800s]
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Engage in light, friendly talk, as in He was soon chatting up all the board members . [Mid-1900s]
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.
It’s a place where people pause to chat up strangers on oak-and-magnolia-draped streets, a place where boutiques sell smocked baby dresses and shirts with phrases such as “Pearls Are Always Appropriate.”
From Slate • May 4, 2026
The Florida governor sidled into a booth to chat up a pair of newlyweds.
From Reuters • Jul. 31, 2023
Longtime residents recounted stories of Carter dropping by the local ice cream parlor for dessert or swinging by a coffee shop to chat up patrons.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 19, 2023
An ardent reader who had dreamed for years of starting her own bookstore, she used her work trips to chat up bookshop owners about how they went about starting their businesses.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 13, 2023
Four casinos down on the strip, Jule surveyed six restaurants until she found a place to order a coffee and chat up a lonely college student who was just starting work on the night shift.
From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart
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.
