Definition

1. 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

1. talk socially without exchanging too much information
   • the men were sitting in the cafe and shooting the breeze