to talk rapidly in a foolish or purposeless way; jabber.
to utter a succession of quick, inarticulate, speechlike sounds, as monkeys or certain birds.
to make a rapid clicking noise by striking together: His teeth were chattering from the cold.
Machinery. (of a cutting tool or piece of metal) to vibrate during cutting so as to produce surface flaws on the work.
verb (used with object)
to utter rapidly or purposelessly.
to cause to chatter, as the teeth from cold.
noun
purposeless or foolish talk.
a series of waves or ridges on the surface of a piece of metal that has been imperfectly drawn or extruded.
the act or sound of chattering.
online, phone, radio, or other electronic communication among people, often involving a harmful political activity such as espionage or terrorism: Officials were able to intercept and identify a high level of terrorist chatter in the weeks before the bombing attempt.
Origin of chatter
1200–50; Middle English chateren; imitative
SYNONYMS FOR chatter
2 clatter, click.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR chatter ON THESAURUS.COM
OTHER WORDS FROM chatter
chat·ter·ing·ly,adverbchat·ter·y,adjectiveoutchatter,verb (used with object)un·chat·ter·ing,adjective
As it begins to starve, the supply of plant health-promoting metabolites it previously delivered to its plant host plummets, and their once vibrant chemical chatter falls quiet.
Junk Food Is Bad For Plants, Too - Issue 90: Something Green|Anne Biklé & David R. Montgomery|September 23, 2020|Nautilus
The moves come amid chatter that the San Francisco–based cryptocurrency giant, which was valued at $8 billion in late 2018, is preparing to go public in coming months.
Coinbase shuffles board ahead of rumored IPO, Marc Andreessen joins as observer|Jeff|August 31, 2020|Fortune
Sparked by some chatter about building a virtual campus away from campus, Jeffery Yu ’22 turned to the world-building game Minecraft.
The Minecraft Institvte of Technology|Tate Ryan-Mosley|August 19, 2020|MIT Technology Review
He knew that random workplace chatter can help people build trust and form bonds.
Remote workers want to re-create those watercooler moments, virtually|Tanya Basu|August 17, 2020|MIT Technology Review
While we know content and links are still important signals, there is always chatter about elements that Google has repeatedly stated don’t actually affect rankings.
SEO myth-busting: What is not a Google search ranking factor|Barry Schwartz|August 5, 2020|Search Engine Land
Indeed, the chatter for the past year on the anti-gay fringe has been of resistance.
The Right Wing Screams for the Wambulance Over Gay Marriage Ruling|Walter Olson|October 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Perhaps organizers will simply give up and settle for chatter.
The Real Housewives of Miss America|Kate Shindle|September 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This constant Internet chatter allows people to not take responsibility for themselves.
Into the Grindr of the Gay Dating Game: Sex, Death, and Aging in ‘Stealing Sam’|Tim Teeman|September 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The discussion of reparations for descendants of slaves saw some chatter this year after a piece in The Atlantic.
Sherman Alexie on His New Film, the Redskins, and Why It's OK to Laugh at His Work|William O’Connor|August 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And as the outbreak deepens and advances across more borders (including the U.S.), chatter on Twitter has also spread swiftly.
Ebola Tweets Are Missing the Target|Kevin Zawacki|August 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There was any amount of chatter at these musters; but on the other hand one seldom seemed to find oneself much forrarder.
Experiences of a Dug-out, 1914-1918|Sir Stanley Maude
The woman, without stopping her chatter, huddled in the doorway, pointing to the dim corner opposite.
Murder in Any Degree|Owen Johnson
She accompanied Miss Glover on her district visiting, but she disliked the poor, and their chatter seemed hopelessly inane.
Mrs. Craddock|W. Somerset Maugham
He would carry it in his arms and hold it on his knee, listen to its chatter, just as he had done with her.
A Little Girl in Old St. Louis|Amanda Minnie Douglas
She chafed under their chatter, and despised them for their shallow pretense.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
British Dictionary definitions for chatter
chatter
/ (ˈtʃætə) /
verb
to speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly; prattle
(intr)(of birds, monkeys, etc) to make rapid repetitive high-pitched noises resembling human speech
(intr)(of the teeth) to click together rapidly through cold or fear
(intr)to make rapid intermittent contact with a component, as in machining, causing irregular cutting
noun
idle or foolish talk; gossip
the high-pitched repetitive noise made by a bird, monkey, etc
the rattling of objects, such as parts of a machine
Also called: chatter markthe undulating pattern of marks in a machined surface from the vibration of the tool or workpiece