chatter

[ chat-er ]

/ ˈtʃæt ər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR chatter ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

to talk rapidly in a foolish or purposeless way; jabber.

to utter a succession of quick, inarticulate, speechlike sounds, as monkeys or certain birds.

to make a rapid clicking noise by striking together: His teeth were chattering from the cold.

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)

to utter rapidly or purposelessly.

to cause to chatter, as the teeth from cold.

noun

purposeless or foolish talk.

a series of waves or ridges on the surface of a piece of metal that has been imperfectly drawn or extruded.

the act or sound of chattering.

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.

Nearby words

Origin of chatter

1200–50; Middle English chateren; imitative

SYNONYMS FOR chatter

2 clatter, click.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR chatter ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formschat·ter·ing·ly, adverbchat·ter·y, adjectiveout·chat·ter, verb (used with object)un·chat·ter·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for chattering

At this point, it becomes hard to hear Malloy over the chattering of the attendees, who have begun to move on to other things.
Dan Malloy Is Progressives’ Dream Governor. So Why Isn’t He Winning?|David Freedlander|October 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Chuck Todd took over Meet the Press barely a month ago, and already the chattering class is nattering for his head.
Jon Stewart and 'Meet The Press' Would Have Been One Unhappy Marriage|Lloyd Grove|October 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Before she finished I began to paint, and she resumed the pose, smiling and chattering like a sparrow.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show|Robert W. Chambers|February 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As one knowledgeable observer pointed out “why give the chattering class something to chatter about?”
Democrats Are Ready to Let Hillary Deliver a Knockout Blow in Iowa|Ben Jacobs|February 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Vincent Asaro was recorded last summer chattering to CW-1 about Di Fiore.
A Goodfellas Sequel: A True-Life Lufthansa Figure Comes to Court|Michael Daly|January 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After dinner he circulated gracefully in the ladies' lounge, and took coffee there surrounded by a chattering bevy.
Where the Blue Begins|Christopher Morley
Scurlock abominated all that shuffling, chattering tangle of dark, half-clad life.
Cursed|George Allan England
Conscious of this superior power, it did not stay long upon the trees, to mingle its chattering with the screams of the coaita.
Afloat in the Forest|Mayne Reid
What a chattering there must have been among them, when they all met at their rendezvous!
Stories about Animals: with Pictures to Match|Francis C. Woodworth
The telegraph instrument was chattering the Delta station call again so Quigley turned to answer it.
Hoofbeats on the Turnpike|Mildred A. Wirt

British Dictionary definitions for chattering

chatter

/ (ˈtʃætə) /

verb

to speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly; prattle

(intr) (of birds, monkeys, etc) to make rapid repetitive high-pitched noises resembling human speech

(intr) (of the teeth) to click together rapidly through cold or fear

(intr) to make rapid intermittent contact with a component, as in machining, causing irregular cutting

noun

idle or foolish talk; gossip

the high-pitched repetitive noise made by a bird, monkey, etc

the rattling of objects, such as parts of a machine

Also called: chatter mark the undulating pattern of marks in a machined surface from the vibration of the tool or workpiece

Derived Formschattery, adjective

Word Origin for chatter

C13: of imitative origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for chattering (1 of 2)

chatter

mid-13c., originally of birds, from chatter (v.).

Word Origin and History for chattering (1 of 2)

chatter

early 13c., chateren "to twitter, gossip," earlier cheateren, chiteren, of echoic origin. Cf. Dutch koeteren "jabber," Danish kvidre "twitter, chirp." Related: Chattered; chattering. Phrase chattering class in use by 1893, with a reference perhaps from 1843:

Such was the most interesting side of the fatal event to that idle chattering class of London life to whom the collision of heaven and earth were important only as affording matter for "news!" [Catherine Grace F. Gore ("Mrs. Gore"), "The Banker's Wife," 1843]

chatter

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of chatter

Examples from the Web for chattering

British Dictionary definitions for chattering

chatter

verb

noun

Word Origin for chatter

Word Origin and History for chattering (1 of 2)

chatter

Word Origin and History for chattering (1 of 2)

chatter