small talk

🌎Region: International 📊Difficulty Level:beginner

💡Meaning

Light, casual conversation about unimportant topics, often to be polite or fill silence.

🕰️Origin

Recorded from the late 19th century. “Small” contrasts with “serious/big” matters, referring to trivial, polite conversation used for social ease.

📝Notes

Polite, low-stakes chat (weather, weekend, etc.) used to build rapport or avoid awkward silence; not meant to be deep or serious.

💬Examples

We made some small talk about the weather while waiting for the meeting to start.
I’m not great at small talk, so I usually ask people about their hobbies.
The elevator ride was awkward, so he tried to fill the silence with small talk.
At networking events, a little small talk can lead to meaningful connections.
She smiled politely through the small talk and then steered the conversation back to business.

📘Grammar & Usage Notes

Usually an uncountable noun (“make small talk”). Can be countable in “a bit of small talk.” Common verbs: make/engage in small talk.

🔗Synonyms

↔️Antonyms