Small Talk Definition & Meaning

American

British

Idioms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms small-talk 1 American [smawl-tawk] / ˈsmɔlˌtɔk /

verb (used without object)

1. to engage in or have a propensity for small talk.

small talk 2 American

noun

1. light conversation; chitchat.

   Synonyms: gossip, chatter, banter

small talk British

noun

1. light conversation for social occasions

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 small talk Idioms

1. Casual or trivial conversation, chitchat, as in We stood around making small talk until the guest of honor arrived. The small in this expression alludes to unimportant subjects of conversation, as opposed to serious or weighty ones. [Mid-1700s]

Etymology

Origin of small-talk1

First recorded in 1780–90

Origin of small talk1

First recorded in 1745–55

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The state is the kind of place where small talk about the weather turns into a half-hour conversation about life; a place where citizens greet or wave to strangers while driving or walking past them.

From Salon

The question is nothing more than a politician’s well-worn small talk, but Travis says, gravely, “You should clean up this city here.”

From The Wall Street Journal

A quick "You okay?" followed by "Yeah, I'm fine" is surface-level small talk.

From BBC

Food does what small talk so often can’t: it lowers the stakes, signals goodwill, and creates a tiny bridge where there was previously just a hallway.

From Salon

Sue’s voice was tight with pain, but Akira was secretly pleased at her own success in making small talk.

From Literature

Related Words

• blather
• chatter
• chitchat
• pleasantry

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.