schmooze

verb

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\ ˈshmüz

variants: or shmooze

schmoozed or shmoozed; schmoozing or shmoozing

Definition of schmooze

(Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

: to converse informally : chat also : to chat in a friendly and persuasive manner especially so as to gain favor, business, or connections

transitive verb

: to engage in schmoozing with she schmoozed her professors

schmooze

noun

Definition of schmooze (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : a gathering or time devoted to schmoozing

2 : casual talk that is often gossipy or ingratiating

Other Words from schmooze Synonyms Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about schmooze

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Did You Know?

Verb

Schmooze (also spelled shmooze) is one of a small, but significant, number of words borrowed from Yiddish that have become relatively common parts of the English language. Other such words include chutzpah, lox, maven, mensch, nebbish, schlep, and schlock. Though classified as a High German language, Yiddish also borrows from the Slavic and Latinate languages as well as from Aramaic and Hebrew. It was the Hebrew shěmu’ōth ("news, rumor") that provided Yiddish with the noun shmues ("talk") and the verb shmuesn ("to talk or chat"). Although originally used in English to indicate simply talking in an informal and warm manner, schmooze has since also taken on the suggestion of discussion for the purposes of gaining something.

Examples of schmooze in a Sentence

Verb People will have time to schmooze during the cocktail hour. spent every spare minute of the conference schmoozing with the industry's power players Noun had to master the art of the schmooze if she wanted to get ahead in the business

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Fans of Davos point to the serendipity gained when so many political and business leaders cram into a small town with little to do but schmooze. — Eric Sylvers, WSJ, "Davos This Year: Silent Streets, Good Skiing," 25 Jan. 2021 Biden continued to schmooze with foreign leaders and soak up global politics for the next 37 years. — Deirdre Shesgreen, USA TODAY, "'That's his first love': Why Biden may be a foreign policy president despite domestic crises," 20 Nov. 2020 Volunteers of different colors and ages assemble in a community kitchen to make a weekly dinner for their neighbors and schmooze with each other. — Jim Higgins, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "40 new books for holiday gifts in 2020," 18 Nov. 2020 Rather than waiting for restaurants and hotels to recover, Mansa Tea found a market in companies looking for ways to hold virtual team building events and virtual ways to schmooze clients. — Tamara E. Holmes, USA TODAY, "The pandemic doesn’t have to be bad for business: 3 companies that are thriving," 6 Nov. 2020 Nobody could schmooze, outwit, or buy their way around the virus. — Ruth S. Barrett, The Atlantic, "Rich Parents Went All In on Lacrosse. And Squash. And Water Polo.," 17 Oct. 2020 At schools with large Jewish populations, Shabbat dinners can draw dozens or even hundreds of students who crowd into a Hillel building or dining hall to eat and schmooze. — Josefin Dolsten, sun-sentinel.com, "Jewish student life will look very different on campus this year," 3 Sep. 2020 Even for race car drivers, who love to schmooze with entertainment's elite, Andretti's crew boasts enough star power to film a reality show. — Dan Gelston, Star Tribune, "Ice loves Marco: Ice-T tops celebrities rooting for Andretti," 20 Aug. 2020 All three were slated to give remarks — traditionally the president or a surrogate and a Republican and a Democrat each speak — during the evening of bipartisanship schmoozing and political sketches. — Roxanne Roberts, Washington Post, "For the first time since World War II, Gridiron Club cancels its annual press dinner amid coronavirus fears," 10 Mar. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun During that weekend, job candidates would lead a service, deliver a sermon, meet with the preschoolers, teach a class, maybe have lunch with staff and schmooze with congregants during kiddush on Shabbat. — Stewart Ain, sun-sentinel.com, "Starting a new job as a rabbi during the pandemic is not easy," 29 Dec. 2020 The bulk of that is from commercial payments facilitated by the WeChat super-app, where a billion Chinese schmooze, shop, and share cabs. — Zheping Huang, Bloomberg.com, "Tencent Reassures Investors Spooked by China Internet Clampdown," 12 Nov. 2020 The 2020 Annual Meeting & Celebration kicks off at 6:45 p.m. with a pre-program community schmooze. — courant.com, "Community News For The West Hartford Edition," 4 Sep. 2020 That schmooze-fest happens across the college landscape. — oregonlive, "Canzano: Harassment mess at ASU underscores booster entitlement -- and why real family must come first," 27 May 2020 An excuse to close one's laptop, slip into black-tie with fellow literacy artists and schmooze prospective Inprint donors. — Amber Elliott, Houston Chronicle, "Inprint Poets & Writers Ball taps The Annie chef Robert Del Grande for gala dinner at the Houstonian," 13 Feb. 2020 Singer cajoles stressed out, wealthy parents; schmoozes with them about his financial investments; and tries to impress them and the coaches who participated in his scheme with his insider knowledge. — BostonGlobe.com, "You're using a browser set to private or incognito mode.," 21 Dec. 2019 In the hours before the debate, many reporters file stories, eat snacks and schmooze with pollsters and political operatives. — Noah Bierman, Los Angeles Times, "The dirty little secret about covering a debate," 15 Oct. 2019 Perched high above Sunset Boulevard, this is where Hollywood power players schmooze over Southsides. — Sarah Bray, Town & Country, "The Best Bars and Clubs to Meet a Rich Husband," 3 Dec. 2014

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