chitchat
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
chitchatsimple
-
chitchatssimple
-
have chitchattedperfect
-
has chitchattedperfect
-
am chitchattingprogressive
-
are chitchattingprogressive
-
is chitchattingprogressive
-
have been chitchattingperfect progressive
-
has been chitchattingperfect progressive
Past
-
chitchattedsimple
-
had chitchattedperfect
-
was chitchattingprogressive
-
were chitchattingprogressive
-
had been chitchattingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of chitchat
First recorded in 1700–10; gradational compound based on 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.
Now, generational analysis seems to be everywhere; from TV comedies like Hacks and Only Murders in the Building, to office-place chitchat.
From BBC • May 17, 2026
“You’re walking down the road. You see a coffee spot, get some coffee. Then you chitchat and then keep walking and do the same thing all over and over again.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026
And because that’s not something that everyone’s used to, you kind of pretend as if you’re having a little chitchat while being observed by everyone.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2025
And since coverage in parks is rare—a tree sometimes—all the skaters usually huddle in the same shady place, making chitchat inevitable.
From The Wall Street Journal • Aug. 21, 2025
We make idle chitchat, but I'm afraid to ask him anything of real importance because after the incident with the door, I can't shake the feeling that I'm being watched constantly.
From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
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.
