chitchat
Americannoun
-
chitchats
plural
verb (used without object)
-
chitchats,
present (3rd person singular)
-
chitchatted,
past participle, past
-
chitchatting
present participle
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.
See Examples For:
You have to have the chitchat to create those connections.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
After about five minutes of chitchat, we landed on a satisfying framework.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
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
I knocked and walked into the room, starting with the usual idle chitchat.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2025
We chitchat about the party, about the entertainment, about the food, and then he makes a joke about avoiding punch since training.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
Usually these World Cup chitchats start with silly icebreakers before the important stuff.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
“She’s outgoing, liberal, kind, chitchats a lot, really supportive of her kids’ sports team, goes to everything, she and her husband.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 18, 2018
They also were true events, shows that moved along as entertainment spectacles rather than James Lipton-esque chitchats.
From Salon ● Apr. 4, 2011
At this point, less than two hours into the trail, members could be spotted at times in hysterics on the floor as they chitchatted with each other.
From Slate ● Apr. 19, 2024
Porter said that she’d ridden the House subway with Lee just the day before and that they’d chitchatted amiably.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2023
Once he called Janet Chen, who chitchatted with him about his research ideas but found the experience “just shattering,” she told me hours afterward.
From New York Times ● Jul. 10, 2018
As opposed to the prayer service, where congregants prayed using different prayer books, at different paces and chitchatted throughout, Kasich received a polite welcome.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 16, 2016
We chitchatted a bit and I left, and on the way home I felt a huge weight lift from my shoulders.
From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos
Studies have also found that chitchatting with strangers or casual acquaintances—psychologists call these “weak ties”—is good for us.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
A large crowd, boisterously enjoying a dip whilst chitchatting and chortling, or a quiet night at home with nothing but your dip and a ton of chips and crudite.
From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2024
Instead of chitchatting while fishing for both your checkbook and a pen to write on, please just swipe a debit card or pay cash while having your money ready.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 11, 2022
We at The Times have been working remotely throughout the pandemic, and we miss chitchatting with coworkers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2021
A lot of hedge fund managers spent time chitchatting with their investors and treated their quarterly letters to them as a formality.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
