chitchat
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
- chitchatty adjective
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.
Spend enough time around cybersecurity types, and questions like the one above might feel like lighthearted chitchat.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
“She can continue to chitchat with Kermit. And that was really charming for her and certainly charming for us. And how can you not have fun on a set like that?”
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 4, 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
Why spend energy on casual chitchat when Viv was always ready to dive deep?
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 2, 2025
She even started asking me what I liked for sandwiches and drinks, and at noon, she’d sit down with me to chitchat for a few minutes while I ate.
From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings
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.
