Meaning & use
small talk
Last updated
UK/ˈsmɔːl tɔːk/
US/ˈsmɔːl tɔːk/
Meaning
noununcountable
light, polite conversation about unimportant things, used to be friendly or fill a silence.
Grammar: Never takes an article: make small talk, not make a small talk.
Patterns
- make small talk
- small talk about something
- small talk with someone
We made small talk about the weather while we waited.
I'm not good at small talk with strangers.
They exchanged some small talk before the meeting began.
Common combinations
- make small talk
- He tried to make small talk in the elevator.
- engage in small talk
- Guests engaged in small talk over coffee.
- idle small talk
- I don't enjoy idle small talk.
- polite small talk
- They exchanged polite small talk at the door.
- avoid small talk
- She likes to avoid small talk and speak about real things.
- skilled at small talk
- Good salespeople are skilled at small talk.
Synonyms and how they differ
- chitchat
- Chitchat is more casual and can suggest gossip, whereas small talk is polite and light.
- banter
- Banter suggests playful teasing, which small talk does not need.
- chat
- A chat can be about anything, including serious topics, unlike small talk.
- pleasantries
- Pleasantries are short polite phrases like greetings, a narrower idea than small talk.
Opposites
serious discussion
Word family
Commonly confused: small talk or small-talk?
small talk vs small-talk
A hyphenated small-talk is not standard; write it as two words.
Practice
At the party I'm not good at ___, so I usually ask people about their hobbies.
Choose one answer.
Small talk is the fixed uncountable noun for light conversation. The other choices are not standard English.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “small talk”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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