What does "chat" mean?
Informal conversation.
Chat
/ˈt͡ʃæt/ intj, name, noun, verb, slang
intj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Informal conversation.
- Grammar: chat is listed as intj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: visit, babble, babblement, bavardage.
- Useful contrasts: email, ignore, monologue.
- Usage evidence: I met Naomi on my way home and we had a chat.
How to use "chat"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "chat" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "chat" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "chat" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "chat" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "chat" is acting as intj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "visit" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "chat", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Informal conversation. countable, uncountable
"It'd be cool to meet up again soon and have a quick chat."
- 2 A small potato, such as is given to swine.
"Wheat and potatoes were traditionally cash crops, though they also provided tail corn for the poultry and chats for the pigs"
- 3 Mining waste from lead and zinc mines. regional
"Frank had been looking at calcite crystals for a while now [...] among the chats or zinc tailings of the Lake County mines, down here in the silver lodes of the Vita Madre and so forth."
- 4 A louse (small, parasitic insect). Australia, British, New-Zealand, World-War-I, slang
"'Do officers have chats, then, the same as us?' 'Not the same, no. The chats they got is bigger and better, with pips on their shoulders and Sam Browne belts.'"
- 5 Alternative form of chaat. alt-of, alternative
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 Acronym of cultural-historical activity theory. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, uncountable
- 7 songbirds having a chattering call wordnet
- 8 An exchange of text or voice messages in real time through a computer network, resembling a face-to-face conversation. countable, uncountable
"Internet Relay Chat"
- 9 birds having a chattering call wordnet
- 10 A chat room, especially (in later use) one accompanying a videoconference or live stream. Internet, uncountable
""Type yes in (the) chat if you can hear me.""
- 11 an informal conversation wordnet
- 12 A chat room, especially (in later use) one accompanying a videoconference or live stream.; The entirety of users, viewed collectively, in a chat room, especially the chat room accompanying a live stream. Internet, countable, metonymically, uncountable
"The chat just made a joke about my poor skillz."
- 13 A chat room, especially (in later use) one accompanying a videoconference or live stream.; Familiar term of address for users on social media other than a chat room, as in "guys." Internet, broadly, countable, humorous, nonstandard, uncountable
- 14 Any of various small Old World passerine birds in the muscicapid tribe Saxicolini or subfamily Saxicolinae that feed on insects. countable
- 15 Any of several small Australian honeyeaters in the genus Epthianura. countable
Verb
- 1 To be engaged in informal conversation.
"She chatted with her friend in the cafe."
- 2 talk socially without exchanging too much information wordnet
- 3 To talk more than a few words.
"I met my old friend in the street, so we chatted for a while."
- 4 To talk of; to discuss. transitive
"They chatted politics for a while."
- 5 To chat shit (to speak nonsense, to lie). informal, often, slang
"Don't listen to me, I'm chatting."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 To exchange text or voice messages in real time through a computer network such as a social media chat room or messaging application (as if having a face-to-face conversation instead of SMS or writing emails or letters).
"Do you want to chat online later?"
Intj
- 1 Used to introduce a question, to address all the other people present. humorous, informal
"Chat, is this real?"
Proper Noun
- 1 ChatGPT. slang
"Its redundancy of creative work and in terms of chat how people can use it as a cheat basically, you don't have to do essays for school when you can ask chat to do it for you, which forces teachers to have to take this tool into account, and a kid here has said his honest essay has been flagged as "AI made" by his teacher, it's really tricky"
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"I met Naomi on my way home and we had a chat."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "chat"?
Common synonyms include: visit, babble, babblement, bavardage, be closeted with, bibble-babble.
How do you use "chat" in a sentence?
I met Naomi on my way home and we had a chat.
How do you pronounce "chat"?
Pronounced /ˈt͡ʃæt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Clipping of chatter. The bird sense refers to the sound of its call.
Etymology 2
Compare chit (“small piece of paper”), and chad.
Etymology 3
Unknown.
Etymology 4
From thieves' cant.
Etymology 5
Clipping of ChatGPT.