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Definition of chat


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chat  audio  (cht) KEY  

intr.v.
chat·ted , chat·ting , chats
  1. To converse in an easy, familiar manner; talk lightly and casually.
  2. Computer Science To participate in a synchronous exchange of remarks with one or more people over a computer network.
NOUN:
  1. An informal, light conversation.
  2. Computer Science A synchronous exchange of remarks over a computer network.
  3. Any of several birds known for their chattering call, as of the genera Saxicola or Icteria.

PHRASAL VERB:
chat up
To engage (someone) in light, casual talk: "He would be . . . chatting up folks from Kansas" (Vanity Fair).

ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English chatten, to jabber, alteration of chateren ; see chatter


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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition.
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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