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• small talk
  small talk

  noun

  light conversation; chitchat.
• small-talk
  small-talk

  verb (used without object)

  to engage in or have a propensity for small talk.

small talk

¹ American  

noun

1. light conversation; chitchat.

   Synonyms:

   gossip, chatter, banter

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small-talk ² American  

[smawl-tawk] / ˈsmɔlˌtɔk /

verb (used without object)

1. to engage in or have a propensity for small talk.

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small talk British  

noun

1. light conversation for social occasions

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small talk Idioms  

1. Casual or trivial conversation, chitchat, as in We stood around making small talk until the guest of honor arrived. The small in this expression alludes to unimportant subjects of conversation, as opposed to serious or weighty ones. [Mid-1700s]

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Etymology

Origin of small talk¹

First recorded in 1745–55

Origin of small-talk²

First recorded in 1780–90

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

small talk small-talk

Hospitality executive María Martínez had to train workers on how to serve Americans’ needs: they want more small talk, guidance on itineraries and are more interested in the island’s history.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026

But I live in fear of the moment when the conversation takes that dreaded turn toward the last redoubt of small talk: What do you do?

From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026

Failing that, small talk in big cities is rare.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

The rapprochement usually starts out small, maybe with a text message here or there or small talk at a family event.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

If I made small talk, maybe my parents wouldn’t insist that I see the kind of doctor you can talk to, which is what I would be doing this afternoon, after today’s field trip.

From "The Thing About Jellyfish" by Ali Benjamin

You might save yourself from a life filled with small-talk with hired guns who were trained to speak to you in short sentences.

From Salon ● Feb. 24, 2025

It was the perfect analogy to our tech-driven, capitalist, corporate society where meetings, office small-talk and bureaucracy often feel like they can drain us of our life force.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2024

The show reproduces, with loving accuracy, our small-talk, our polite jokes — the way groups use humor to defuse social tensions.

From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2023

Gastineau was the Dukes’ radio voice, and he remembers small-talk conversations with Purzycki about his experience with the Hornets.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 14, 2019

I think about Ma’s small-talk conversations, and how they take over dinner anytime we have a guest over.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

Related Words

• blather
• chatter
• chitchat
• pleasantry