small talk

¹ American  

noun

1. light conversation; chitchat.

   Synonyms:

   gossip, chatter, banter

---

small-talk ² American  

[smawl-tawk] / ˈsmɔlˌtɔk /

verb (used without object)

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

---

small talk British  

noun

1. light conversation for social occasions

---

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]

---

Etymology

Origin of small talk¹

First recorded in 1745–55

Origin of small-talk¹

First recorded in 1780–90

Example Sentences

Food does what small talk so often can’t: it lowers the stakes, signals goodwill, and creates a tiny bridge where there was previously just a hallway.

From Salon

Sue’s voice was tight with pain, but Akira was secretly pleased at her own success in making small talk.

From Literature

A lifetime of small talk with the dead had made him hard to spook.

From Literature

So when David was chatting to Victoria, was Coogan left having to make small talk with the other Spice Girls?

From BBC

For several years they were blissfully free of loud colleagues and agonizing small talk.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• blather
• chatter
• chitchat
• pleasantry