natter
/'nætə/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb:
- To talk casually and at length, especially about unimportant matters; to chat idly or gossip. The conversation is typically light, informal, and often prolonged without a serious purpose.
Usage
- Verb: Used to describe informal, often lengthy, social talking. It implies a relaxed, sometimes repetitive or trivial exchange of news or opinions.
- We nattered for hours over coffee.
- They love to natter on the phone every evening.
- The verb is often followed by the preposition "on" or "away" to emphasize continuous, sometimes excessive, talking.
- She nattered on about her holiday plans.
- He just nattered away while I tried to work.
Examples
Advanced Usage
- "To have a natter" (Noun, informal): To have a casual chat or gossip session.
- Let's go for a coffee and have a good natter.
- The word often carries a slightly negative or critical connotation when the talking is perceived as excessive, trivial, or distracting.
Variants and Related Words
- Natterer (noun, rare): A person who natters.
- Nattering (noun/gerund): The act of talking in this way.
- The constant nattering from the next table was distracting.
Synonyms
- Chat: To talk in a friendly, informal way.
- Gossip: To talk about other people's private lives, often including rumours.
- Prate: To talk foolishly or at tedious length.
- Jaw (slang): To talk, especially at length.
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Natter on: To talk continuously about unimportant things.
- He can natter on about football for hours.
- Natter away: Similar to "natter on," emphasizing the ongoing nature of the talk.
- They were nattering away as if they had all the time in the world.
Related Idioms
- Shoot the breeze: (Idiom, informal) To engage in casual, relaxed conversation. This is a close synonym in spirit to "natter."
- We sat on the porch, just shooting the breeze.
Verb
- talk socially without exchanging too much information
- the men were sitting in the cafe and shooting the breeze