variants
or shmooze
schmoozed or shmoozed; schmoozing or shmoozing
: to converse informally : chat
also
: to chat in a friendly and persuasive manner especially so as to gain favor, business, or connections
: to engage in schmoozing with
she schmoozed her professors
1
: a gathering or time devoted to schmoozing
2
: casual talk that is often gossipy or ingratiating
Did you know?
Schmooze (also spelled shmooze) comes from Yiddish schmues, meaning "talk," which itself is from Hebrew shěmu’ōth, "news" or "rumor." Although originally used to indicate simply talking in an informal and warm manner, the word now commonly suggests discussion for the purposes of gaining something.
Synonyms
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
Georgia Nicols, The Denver Post, 7 Apr. 2024
With Aron Barbell still MIA, his ally 'Boston' Rob Mariano schmoozes other contestants
When Monday's episode opened, Barbell had not yet returned to camp.
—Journal Sentinel, 26 Mar. 2024
Held at the Santa Monica Airport for the second year running, the all-day event on Thursday, Feb. 29, felt breezier this year, as a new design and 20 percent fewer galleries gave A-listers the space to peruse and schmooze.
—Hadley Meares, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Mar. 2024
After all, why should Manhattanites have to fly all the way to Colorado just to schmooze?
—Noah Lederman, Robb Report, 27 Feb. 2024
Within the halls of the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall, celebrities schmoozed, had ecstatic reunions, reminisced about their career beginnings and let their guards down, all while basking in the presence of fellow actors.
—Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 25 Feb. 2024
Some of you are taking short trips, others are teaching, learning, talking and schmoozing with daily contacts and relatives.
—Georgia Nicols, The Denver Post, 13 Feb. 2024
In other words: no writing, no pitching about writing and no talking or schmoozing about said writing.
—Stacy Perman, Los Angeles Times, 27 July 2023
The latter pair made the rounds earlier in the evening, schmoozing with Bon Jovi, 2012 MusiCares honoree Paul McCartney and Springsteen.
—Melinda Newman, Billboard, 3 Feb. 2024
Georgia Nicols, The Denver Post, 5 Apr. 2024
The private event was an industry schmooze par excellence, something like if Jay Gatsby decided to throw an unofficial SXSW showcase, and the tunes, like everything else, were top-shelf.
—Cat Cardenas, Rolling Stone, 14 Mar. 2024
Bradley Cooper, Ryan Gosling bro it out, more celebs schmooze
In typical Critics Choice fashion, the second the telecast hit a commercial break, stars jumped up from their seats to move to other tables, chatting each other up and posing for pictures.
—USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2024
This is an excellent day to schmooze with partners, close friends and members of the general public.
—Georgia Nicols, The Denver Post, 7 Feb. 2024
Raad, still a CNN employee under Licht, was there to schmooze on behalf of the network, but was spotted in RedBird’s VIP area, meeting with Zucker and members of the oil-rich country’s sovereign wealth fund.
—Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 25 July 2023
Representatives of the Southeastern Conference, including Alabama coach Nick Saban, are in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday to lobby and schmooze members of Congress and their staffers.
—Joseph Goodman | Jgoodman@al.com, al, 7 June 2023
Mitchell Rudin prefers to schmooze while shooting hoops.
—Jen Murphy, wsj.com, 29 Apr. 2023
The Arizona senator has reportedly gone on a national tour to schmooze with corporate lobbyists and donors, often of the Republican persuasion, criticizing Democrats and in one instance even flipping off a White House aide while talking about him.
—Prem Thakker, The New Republic, 23 Mar. 2023
Verb
Do what pleases you, because this is the perfect day to enjoy outdoor sports, schmoozing with friends, playful times with children and, of course, travel and vacations are tops on your menu.
—Georgia Nicols, The Denver Post, 7 Apr. 2024
With Aron Barbell still MIA, his ally 'Boston' Rob Mariano schmoozes other contestants
When Monday's episode opened, Barbell had not yet returned to camp.
—Journal Sentinel, 26 Mar. 2024
Held at the Santa Monica Airport for the second year running, the all-day event on Thursday, Feb. 29, felt breezier this year, as a new design and 20 percent fewer galleries gave A-listers the space to peruse and schmooze.
—Hadley Meares, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Mar. 2024
After all, why should Manhattanites have to fly all the way to Colorado just to schmooze?
—Noah Lederman, Robb Report, 27 Feb. 2024
Within the halls of the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall, celebrities schmoozed, had ecstatic reunions, reminisced about their career beginnings and let their guards down, all while basking in the presence of fellow actors.
—Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 25 Feb. 2024
Some of you are taking short trips, others are teaching, learning, talking and schmoozing with daily contacts and relatives.
—Georgia Nicols, The Denver Post, 13 Feb. 2024
In other words: no writing, no pitching about writing and no talking or schmoozing about said writing.
—Stacy Perman, Los Angeles Times, 27 July 2023
The latter pair made the rounds earlier in the evening, schmoozing with Bon Jovi, 2012 MusiCares honoree Paul McCartney and Springsteen.
—Melinda Newman, Billboard, 3 Feb. 2024
Noun
Accept invitations to schmooze and socialize with others.
—Georgia Nicols, The Denver Post, 5 Apr. 2024
The private event was an industry schmooze par excellence, something like if Jay Gatsby decided to throw an unofficial SXSW showcase, and the tunes, like everything else, were top-shelf.
—Cat Cardenas, Rolling Stone, 14 Mar. 2024
Bradley Cooper, Ryan Gosling bro it out, more celebs schmooze
In typical Critics Choice fashion, the second the telecast hit a commercial break, stars jumped up from their seats to move to other tables, chatting each other up and posing for pictures.
—USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2024
This is an excellent day to schmooze with partners, close friends and members of the general public.
—Georgia Nicols, The Denver Post, 7 Feb. 2024
Raad, still a CNN employee under Licht, was there to schmooze on behalf of the network, but was spotted in RedBird’s VIP area, meeting with Zucker and members of the oil-rich country’s sovereign wealth fund.
—Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 25 July 2023
Representatives of the Southeastern Conference, including Alabama coach Nick Saban, are in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday to lobby and schmooze members of Congress and their staffers.
—Joseph Goodman | Jgoodman@al.com, al, 7 June 2023
Mitchell Rudin prefers to schmooze while shooting hoops.
—Jen Murphy, wsj.com, 29 Apr. 2023
The Arizona senator has reportedly gone on a national tour to schmooze with corporate lobbyists and donors, often of the Republican persuasion, criticizing Democrats and in one instance even flipping off a White House aide while talking about him.
—Prem Thakker, The New Republic, 23 Mar. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'schmooze.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to schmooze
Dictionary Entries Near schmooze
Cite this Entry
“Schmooze.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/schmooze. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share