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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
Jason Parham, WIRED, 16 Aug. 2023
Tom Girardi spent his career schmoozing with other lawyers about big cases, often in a smart suit at a choice table in his private club.
—Harriet Ryan, Los Angeles Times, 22 Aug. 2023
Yevgeny Prigozhin stole the limelight in the president’s home city, schmoozing with visiting officials and lauding a military coup in Niger.
—Bloomberg, Fortune, 29 July 2023
Then, yeah, schmoozing anonymously with family on the employer’s feed would be, as my teen says, kinda cringe.
—Karla L. Miller, Washington Post, 15 June 2023
Delegates and other party members schmoozed in the convention center's marble hallways and argued over their own contentious election for state party chairman.
—David Jackson, USA TODAY, 11 June 2023
For decades the retailer brought fashion legends such as Coco Chanel, Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent to Dallas to schmooze with customers.
—Maria Halkias, Dallas News, 20 Apr. 2023
The former mattress salesman and manager also missed the action – schmoozing with customers at work, putting a smile on their faces.
—Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 6 Apr. 2023
Protasiewicz schmoozed energetically with the crowd, which was largely older and white, with a smattering of attendees from the Ho-Chunk Nation, including its President, Marlon WhiteEagle.
—Dan Kaufman, The New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2023
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
In typical awards show fashion, the celebrity seating area turned into an A-list schmooze-fest the second the broadcast hit a commercial break James Corden weaved between tables, chatting up Olivia Rodrigo, who also took some time to talk to SZA.
—Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 7 Feb. 2023
Additionally, some of Biden's preferred methods to lobby and schmooze have been curtailed by the pandemic.
—Aamer Madhani and Lisa Mascaro, Star Tribune, 24 Jan. 2021
Authors give talks in cramped storefronts, schmooze at luncheons, and learn to casually discuss their belabored creative project as commercial content.
—Kate Knibbs, Wired, 1 Jan. 2021
For now, the industry is in schmooze mode, sending delegations to meet the chairman, other commissioners and members of Congress.
—Peter S. Goodman, New York Times, 8 Aug. 2022
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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.
Word History
Verb
Yiddish shmuesn, from schmues talk, from Hebrew shĕmu'ōth news, rumor
Verb
1888, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense
Noun
1895, in the meaning defined at sense 2
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Cite this Entry
“Schmooze.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/schmooze. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.
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Kids Definition
schmooze
verbVerb
Yiddish shmuesn "to chat," from Hebrew shĕmu'ōth "news, rumor"
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