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chat (chăt)
Share:
intr.v. chat·ted, chat·ting, chats
1. To converse in an easy, familiar manner; talk lightly and casually.
2. Computers To participate in a synchronous exchange of remarks with one or more people over a computer network.
n.
1. An informal, light conversation.
2. Computers A synchronous exchange of remarks over a computer network.
3. Any of various birds in the families Muscicapidae or Parulidae that have a chattering call, especially the yellow-breasted chat.
Phrasal Verb:
chat up
1. To engage (someone) in light, casual talk: "He would be ... chatting up folks from Kansas" (Vanity Fair).
2. To talk informally with (someone), especially in a flirtatious manner.
[Middle English chatten, to jabber, alteration of chateren; see CHATTER.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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