Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

small talk

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.16 in modern English

Syllables: smal-l- talk
IPA

15

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Idle conversation, typically regarding innocuous or unimportant subjects, usually engaged in at social gatherings out of politeness.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

"[T]o the credit of the lady it may be added, that […] without any of the arts of flattery or the gaieties of small talk, he began to be agreeable to her."
"If he had a fault as a conversationalist, it was a certain tendency to monotony, a certain lack of sparkle and variety in his small-talk."
"Yet for so public a figure, Jackson was socially awkward, inept at small talk and terrified when the distant audience became an adoring mob."

Usage

Uncountable

Inflected Forms

small-talk (alternative) smalltalk (alternative)

Derived Forms

Smalltalk

Phrases

small-talker small-talky big talk happy talk

Frequently Paired Words

big talk happy talk

Synonyms

chit-chat pleasantries foretalk chitchat chit chat gab gabfest gossip tittle-tattle chin wag chin-wag chin wagging

Questions

What does small talk mean?: Idle conversation, typically regarding innocuous or unimportant subjects, usually engaged in at social gatherings out of politeness.

How to pronounce small talk

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “small talk”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “small talk” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.