small talk

noun

: light or casual conversation : chitchat

Synonyms of small talk

• chat
• talk
• chatter
• table talk

Examples of small talk in a Sentence

They made small talk while waiting for the meeting to start.

at the corporate get-together we made the obligatory small talk with some people from the home office

Recent Examples on the Web

At a sound bath, two people may spend much of the session quietly lying beside each other instead of filling every silence with small talk, letting the sound bath instruments carry the room. — Ashley Lynch, Sacbee.com, 3 Sep. 2026

The instruments do the heavy lifting, giving you both something to react to without forcing small talk. — Ashley Lynch, Charlotte Observer, 3 Sep. 2026

What began as awkward small talk with strangers quickly becomes conversations with like-minded people. — Sarah Kingdom, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026

Frazier said that the woman was known to frequently walk around the neighborhood sparking up small talk. — Stephen Swanson, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1650, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for small talk

• alcock
• beanstalk
• bedrock
• boardwalk
• catwalk
• cornstalk
• crosswalk
• deadlock
• feedstock
• fetlock
• flintlock
• goshawk

Kids Definition

small talk

noun

: light or informal conversation