chatter
/ˈt͡ʃætɚ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.38 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
In national security, the degree of communication between suspect groups and individuals, used to gauge the degree of expected terrorist activity.
Uncountable
noun
The situation where a drill or similar tool vibrates and tears the material rather than cutting it cleanly.
Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Although hardly coming under my theme, I cannot omit this: "Against a woman's chatter: Taste at night fasting a root of radish, that day the chatter cannot harm thee.""
- "The hare cried and complained of the terrible February cold and the disgusting chatter of the owls[.]"
- "At dawn and at sunset the howler monkeys screamed together and the parakeets broke into shrill chatter, but during the hot hours of the day only the full drone of insects, like the beat of a distant surf, filled the ear, while nothing moved amid the solemn vistas of stupendous trunks, fading away into the darkness which held us in."
- "The wind rose as the earth darkened, so that fading chatters of woodland animals were countered by the strengthening sounds of waving trees […]"
- "Proper brake adjustment will help to reduce the chatter."
- "The NSA is concerned about increased chatter between known terror groups."
Etymology
Etymology tree Middle English cheteren, chiteren (Imitative)der. Middle English chateren English chatter From Middle English chateren, from earlier cheteren, chiteren (“to twitter, chatter, jabber”), of imitative origin. Compare Saterland Frisian tjoaterje (“to chatter”), West Frisian tsjotterje (“to chatter”), Dutch schateren, schetteren (“chatter”), Dutch koeteren (“jabber”), Middle Low German kidderen (“to chatter”), German Low German queteln (“to chatter”), dialectal German kaudern (“to gobble (like a turkey)”), Danish kvidre (“to twitter, chirp”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: chateren
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈt͡ʃætɚ/
- British English: /ˈtʃætə/