chatterbox

American  

[chat-er-boks] / ˈtʃæt ərˌbɒks /

noun

1. an excessively talkative person.

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chatterbox British  

/ ˈtʃætəˌbɒks /

noun

1. informal a person who talks constantly, esp about trivial matters

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Etymology

Origin of chatterbox

First recorded in 1765–75; i.e., person whose voice box chatters constantly

Explanation

A chatterbox is a person who tends to use a whole lot of words without having much of anything to say. If you're constantly whispering to your friend during math class, your annoyed teacher might call you a chatterbox. The informal word chatterbox is the perfect term for the annoying, incessant talker you always seem to end up sitting next to on long plane trips. Chatterbox dates from the 1770s, a combination of chatter, an echoic or onomatopoeic word, and box, giving chatterbox the sense of "a box or container full of idle chatter."

Example Sentences

I’m A Chatterbox stayed with her throughout the backstretch then started to fade in the far turn just as Beholder started to rally.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 4, 2016

The series itself was given a makeover in 2011 to celebrate its 40th anniversary - Mr Greedy was re-imagined as a banker and Little Miss Chatterbox was seen with a mobile.

From BBC • Oct. 11, 2016

So I was startled to read this Chatterbox column, in which Timothy Noah asked five Washington Post reporters what those phrases mean and none of them could give him a straight answer.

From Slate • Sep. 22, 2016

Funny, there was "the original" Batmobile on display at the Chatterbox Drive-In in North Jersey this summer.

From New York Times • Oct. 11, 2014

Maybe she had read a poem from Chatterbox with gestures.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck