chatter
Americanverb (used without object)
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to talk rapidly in a foolish or purposeless way; jabber.
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to utter a succession of quick, inarticulate, speechlike sounds, as monkeys or certain birds.
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to make a rapid clicking noise by striking together.
His teeth were chattering from the cold.
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Machinery. (of a cutting tool or piece of metal) to vibrate during cutting so as to produce surface flaws on the work.
verb (used with object)
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to utter rapidly or purposelessly.
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to cause to chatter, as the teeth from cold.
noun
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purposeless or foolish talk.
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a series of waves or ridges on the surface of a piece of metal that has been imperfectly drawn or extruded.
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the act or sound of chattering.
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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.
verb
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to speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly; prattle
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(intr) (of birds, monkeys, etc) to make rapid repetitive high-pitched noises resembling human speech
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(intr) (of the teeth) to click together rapidly through cold or fear
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(intr) to make rapid intermittent contact with a component, as in machining, causing irregular cutting
noun
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idle or foolish talk; gossip
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the high-pitched repetitive noise made by a bird, monkey, etc
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the rattling of objects, such as parts of a machine
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Also called: chatter mark. the undulating pattern of marks in a machined surface from the vibration of the tool or workpiece
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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chattersimple
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chatterssimple
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have chatteredperfect
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has chatteredperfect
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am chatteringprogressive
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are chatteringprogressive
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is chatteringprogressive
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have been chatteringperfect progressive
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has been chatteringperfect progressive
Past
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chatteredsimple
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had chatteredperfect
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was chatteringprogressive
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were chatteringprogressive
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had been chatteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of chatter
1200–50; Middle English chateren; imitative
Explanation
To chatter is to talk lightly or casually — to shoot the breeze or chitchat. You might chatter with your workmates about the weather or where you'll eat lunch. You probably chatter with your friends all the time without even thinking about it, gossiping or talking about unimportant things. You can call the talk itself chatter too: "The chatter in the cafeteria was so loud I couldn't hear myself think." In the 13th century, it was chateren, from an imitative Middle English root.
Vocabulary lists containing chatter
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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.
The ensuing discourse and social media chatter are often divisive.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 1, 2026
All good fodder to see if I could really block out my mental chatter.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 27, 2026
Fans sit on plastic chairs arranged on the sandy floor, their chatter mingling with the hum of a worn-out generator.
From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026
Seven-year-old Alex, who is autistic, dreaded a trip to the hairdressers, "shaking and jerking" whenever he needed a trim and fearing the noisy environment of chatter and dryers.
From BBC • Jun. 17, 2026
After the chatter of the Doyles, the quiet at the dinner table sounds strange to my ears.
From "A Step from Heaven" by An Na
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.
