chatter

/ˈtʃætə/

//ˈtʃætə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"chatter" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“chatter” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,565. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,565
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk.

Corpus desk

Index EN-chatter · chatter · English

chatter · rank #17,565 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #17,565
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH censored

Nearest frequency peer: censored (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “chatter”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “chatter” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

chatter vs cutter
71% similar
chatter vs crater
71% similar
chatter vs chatty
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for chatter
PropertyValue
Headwordchatter
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtʃætə/
Letters7
Frequency rank#17,565
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “chatter”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).chatterlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “censored” (#17,564), “cheered” (#17,566), “caterpillar” (#17,563). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “chatter” is #17,565. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around chatter (IPA /ˈtʃætə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #17,565 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for chatter, with forms such as "cahtter", "cchatter", and "chater". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "cutter", "crater", "chatty", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English chateren, from earlier cheteren, chiteren (“to twitter, chatter, jabber”), of imitative origin. Compare Saterland Frisian tjoaterje (“to chatter”), West Frisian tsjotterje (“to chatter”), Dutch schateren, schetteren (“chatter”), Dutch ko… The correct English form is chatter, spelled C-H-A-T-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk.
  2. 2
    The sound of talking.
  3. 3
    The vocalisations of a Eurasian magpie, Pica pica.
  4. 4
    The vocalisations of various birds or other animals.
  5. 5
    An intermittent noise, as from vibration.
  6. 6
    In national security, the degree of communication between suspect groups and individuals, used to gauge the degree of expected terrorist activity.
  7. 7
    The situation where a drill or similar tool vibrates and tears the material rather than cutting it cleanly.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how chatter appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Although hardly coming under my theme, I cannot omit this: "Against a woman's chatter: Taste at night fasting a root of radish, that day the chatter cannot harm thee."
  2. The hare cried and complained of the terrible February cold and the disgusting chatter of the owls[.]

Etymology

From Middle English chateren, from earlier cheteren, chiteren (“to twitter, chatter, jabber”), of imitative origin. Compare Saterland Frisian tjoaterje (“to chatter”), West Frisian tsjotterje (“to chatter”), Dutch schateren, schetteren (“chatter”), Dutch koeteren (“jabber”), Middle Low German kidderen (“to chatter”), German Low German queteln (“to chatter”), dialectal German kaudern (“to gobble (like a turkey)”), Danish kvidre (“to twitter, chirp”).

Synonyms

babblebavardagebibble-babbleblabblabberblabbingblatherblatheringchatterchinwagchit-chatclaverclepegabblehot airmardlenatterpalaverprateprattlescuttlebuttsmall talktattletwaddlewaffleyackety-yakyapyatter

This word in other languages

parloteo(Español)jacassement(Français)Geplapper(Deutsch)falatório(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cahtter
  • cchatter
  • chater
  • chatetr
  • chatterr
  • chattre
  • chhatter
  • chtater
  • hcatter

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of chatter - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

cahtter2cchatter1chater1chatetr2chatterr1chattre2chhatter1chtater2
Edit distance from "chatter"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "chatter"?
"chatter" is spelled C-H-A-T-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtʃætə/.
What does "chatter" mean?
As a noun, "chatter" means: Talk, especially meaningless or unimportant talk.
What words are commonly confused with "chatter"?
"chatter" is commonly confused with "cutter", "crater", "chatty". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "chatter"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "chatter" is /ˈtʃætə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "chatter"?
From Middle English chateren, from earlier cheteren, chiteren (“to twitter, chatter, jabber”), of imitative origin. Compare Saterland Frisian tjoaterje (“to chatter”), West Frisian tsjotterje (“to chatter”), Dutch schateren, schetteren (“chatter”)... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "chatter", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cheered#17,566bulldog#17,562Colbert#17,570comedic#17,571

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

cleric9 variantsbotany9 variantscreeps9 variantscutler9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list