chatter

[ chat-er ]

/ ˈtʃæt ər /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR chatter ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

to talk rapidly in a foolish or purposeless way; jabber.

to utter a succession of quick, inarticulate, speechlike sounds, as monkeys or certain birds.

to make a rapid clicking noise by striking together: His teeth were chattering from the cold.

Machinery. (of a cutting tool or piece of metal) to vibrate during cutting so as to produce surface flaws on the work.

verb (used with object)

to utter rapidly or purposelessly.

to cause to chatter, as the teeth from cold.

noun

purposeless or foolish talk.

a series of waves or ridges on the surface of a piece of metal that has been imperfectly drawn or extruded.

the act or sound of chattering.

online, phone, radio, or other electronic communication among people, often involving a harmful political activity such as espionage or terrorism: Officials were able to intercept and identify a high level of terrorist chatter in the weeks before the bombing attempt.

Origin of chatter

1200–50; Middle English chateren; imitative

SYNONYMS FOR chatter

2 clatter, click.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR chatter ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM chatter

chat·ter·ing·ly, adverb chat·ter·y, adjective out·chat·ter, verb (used with object) un·chat·ter·ing, adjective

Words nearby chatter

chattahoochee, chattanooga, chattel, chattel house, chattel mortgage, chatter, chatter mark, chatterati, chatterbox, chatterer, chattering class

Example sentences from the Web for chatter

Indeed, the chatter for the past year on the anti-gay fringe has been of resistance.

The Right Wing Screams for the Wambulance Over Gay Marriage Ruling |Walter Olson |October 13, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Perhaps organizers will simply give up and settle for chatter.

The Real Housewives of Miss America |Kate Shindle |September 21, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
This constant Internet chatter allows people to not take responsibility for themselves.

Into the Grindr of the Gay Dating Game: Sex, Death, and Aging in ‘Stealing Sam’ |Tim Teeman |September 18, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The discussion of reparations for descendants of slaves saw some chatter this year after a piece in The Atlantic.

Sherman Alexie on His New Film, the Redskins, and Why It's OK to Laugh at His Work |William O’Connor |August 22, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

And as the outbreak deepens and advances across more borders (including the U.S.), chatter on Twitter has also spread swiftly.

Ebola Tweets Are Missing the Target |Kevin Zawacki |August 3, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
There was any amount of chatter at these musters; but on the other hand one seldom seemed to find oneself much forrarder.

Experiences of a Dug-out, 1914-1918 |Sir Stanley Maude
The woman, without stopping her chatter, huddled in the doorway, pointing to the dim corner opposite.

Murder in Any Degree |Owen Johnson
She accompanied Miss Glover on her district visiting, but she disliked the poor, and their chatter seemed hopelessly inane.

Mrs. Craddock |W. Somerset Maugham
He would carry it in his arms and hold it on his knee, listen to its chatter, just as he had done with her.

A Little Girl in Old St. Louis |Amanda Minnie Douglas
She chafed under their chatter, and despised them for their shallow pretense.

The Bondboy |George W. (George Washington) Ogden

British Dictionary definitions for chatter

chatter

/ (ˈtʃætə) /

verb

to speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly; prattle

(intr) (of birds, monkeys, etc) to make rapid repetitive high-pitched noises resembling human speech

(intr) (of the teeth) to click together rapidly through cold or fear

(intr) to make rapid intermittent contact with a component, as in machining, causing irregular cutting

noun

idle or foolish talk; gossip

the high-pitched repetitive noise made by a bird, monkey, etc

the rattling of objects, such as parts of a machine

Also called: chatter mark the undulating pattern of marks in a machined surface from the vibration of the tool or workpiece

Derived forms of chatter

chattery, adjective

Word Origin for chatter

C13: of imitative origin

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

chatter

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

noun

Origin of chatter

SYNONYMS FOR chatter

OTHER WORDS FROM chatter

Words nearby chatter

Example sentences from the Web for chatter

British Dictionary definitions for chatter

verb

noun

Derived forms of chatter

Word Origin for chatter

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

chatter

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

noun

Origin of chatter

SYNONYMS FOR chatter

OTHER WORDS FROM chatter

Words nearby chatter

Words related to chatter

Example sentences from the Web for chatter

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for chatter

verb

noun

Derived forms of chatter

Word Origin for chatter

British Dictionary definitions for chatter