chatter

verb

chat·ter | \ ˈcha-tər

chattered; chattering; chatters

Definition of chatter

(Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

1 : to utter rapid short sounds suggestive of language but inarticulate and indistinct squirrels chattered angrily

2 : to talk idly, incessantly, or fast

3a : to click repeatedly or uncontrollably teeth chattering with cold

b : to vibrate rapidly in cutting a chattering tool

c : to vibrate especially audibly as a consequence of repeated sticking and slipping chattering brakes

transitive verb

: to utter rapidly, idly, or indistinctly

chatter

noun

Definition of chatter (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : the action or sound of chattering

2 : idle talk : prattle

3 : electronic and especially radio communication between individuals engaged in a common or related form of activity also : such chatter regarding future hostile activities

4 : a person who participates in online chat Excite, Inc. … reports that users log a total of 7.5 to 8 million chat minutes on an average day. Half of online chatters are aged 18 to 34, and 15 percent are under age 17.— Rebecca Piirto Heath

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Examples of chatter in a Sentence

Verb

Children chattered in the middle of the playground. My teeth were chattering from the cold. Birds chattered in the trees.

Noun

heard the chatter of squirrels pleasant chatter over morning coffee

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The graduates in the first few rows mostly chattered and showed one another things on their phones. — Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, "The Message of Measles," 26 Aug. 2019 One moment Millie was sitting up in her hospital bed, chattering away to her parents, recovering from what was supposed to be routine heart surgery a day earlier. — Shari Rudavsky, Indianapolis Star, "The machine that saved Millie — and 999 other Riley kids before her," 6 June 2019 That is until Jaden Tommins (Snowfall’s Damson Idris), glides into Chris’ car in a nice suit, carrying nice luggage and chattering about his first-class flight. — Ariana Romero, refinery29.com, "Black Mirror Season 5, Episode 2 Recap: "Smithereens"," 31 May 2019 At night, big, chattering black birds called zanates settle into a single tree in the city’s central park, and the gringos and Guatemalans gather to dance salsa clumsily. — Rachel Nolan, Harper's magazine, "Destined for Export," 10 June 2019 Happy Days Dianne Wiest is riveting as a woman who chatters away while buried up to her waist in a dirt mound in Samuel Beckett’s 1961 classic of absurdist theater. — Matt Cooper, latimes.com, "SoCal theater listings, June 30-July 7: ‘American Saga — Gunshot Medley: Part 1’ and more," 28 June 2019 In 2011, Allen became curious about how many squirrels were chattering in the trees around him, but could find no good answer to his question. — Jason Daley, Smithsonian, "Volunteers Counted All the Squirrels in Central Park," 24 June 2019 The best part of my day is listening to my mother and my son chattering back and forth, a sort of baby–old lady call-and-response. — Deborah E. Kennedy, Good Housekeeping, "My Mom Has Dementia, But Her Relationship With My Son Is Unforgettable," 3 May 2019 Not long after its start, social media began chattering that some buyers were having trouble buying. — Jason Gay, WSJ, "Refund Madness! Tiger & Phil’s Vegas Bogey," 25 Nov. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Engagement chatter sparked after the two were spotted wearing matching rings on vacation. — Glamour, "Cara Delevingne and Ashley Benson's Relationship: A Complete Timeline," 10 Sep. 2019 Books should be treated in the manner of movies or television shows, as occasions for collective chatter, as storehouses of shareable trivia, and once in a while as containers of detachable ideas. — Christian Lorentzen, Harper's magazine, "Like This or Die," 10 Apr. 2019 A year after the Globes were awash in a sea of black and #MeToo discussion replaced fashion chatter, the red carpet largely returned to more typical colors and conversation. — Jake Coyle, The Seattle Times, "Mamma Mia! ‘Rhapsody’ upsets ‘Star Is Born’ at Globes," 7 Jan. 2019 Toronto Film Festival chatter on Twitter during the 2019 edition was dominated by Hollywood's early award season contenders, Twitter Canada said Sunday. — Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, "Toronto: 'Joker,' 'Knives Out' Star Chris Evans Dominated Twitter During Festival," 16 Sep. 2019 Some northern pike were reported caught on spinner baits and chatter baits around the southern end of Mosquito Reservoir. — D'arcy Eagan, cleveland.com, "Lake Erie smallmouth bass biting around — where else? — the Bass Islands: Fishing Report for Sept. 13," 13 Sep. 2019 The winner of this game will silence hot seat chatter around its coach for one week, while the other can be prepared to get ripped for the foreseeable future. — The Si Staff, SI.com, "College Football Week 2 Picks: LSU-Texas, Clemson-Texas A&M and More," 5 Sep. 2019 Inside, children played in the cafeteria and adults passed the time with games and chatter. — Richard Fausset, New York Times, "Hurricane Dorian Becomes a Carolina Problem With a Fierce Lashing of the Coast," 5 Sep. 2019 With a healthy summer off, expect Murray to garner some All-Star chatter early this season. — Mike Singer, The Denver Post, "Projecting the Nuggets’ depth chart heading into 2019-’20 season," 24 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'chatter.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.