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Glite Dictionary
chat room

chat room

43 3.0
An online place where people talk in real time about a topic
  • noun
  • /ˈtʃæt ruːm/
  • Texting
translation icon : sala de chat
  • A chat session is initiated by typing a message in a designated window, or "chat room," generated by the instant messaging software.
  • an online chat room
  • use the chat room
  • Internet chat rooms

So I actually was at my grandparents house when I was in chat rooms getting advice.

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Examples

  • Teenagers divulge their most intimate secrets on websites or in chat rooms, hoping that confession is therapeutic.

    Academic text (2004)

  • The conversation flows among users who are "virtually" present in the chat room.

    Academic text (2001)

  • So if you are in in one of the chat rooms, he will be there to to field your question for us.

  • Luke even has his own chat room.

    Undiscovered (2005)

  • You meet them in those chat rooms?

    S1m0ne (2002)

  • By the way, what were we supposed to read in that chat room stuff you posted?

    Blog text (12)

  • All the online chat rooms are exploding with enthusiasm.

    The Benchwarmers (2006)

  • They met five years ago in a chat room for gardeners.

    Shall We Dance? (2004)

  • Keep children out of chat rooms unless they're monitored and certified as kid-safe.

    Academic text (1997)

  • Many people gather in a chat room to discuss their favorite TV shows.

Synonyms

forum
vschat room
  • Texting
430 3.2

A meeting or online place where people talk about ideas and share views

is for immediate real time communication rather than delayed discussion
chatroom
vschat room
  • Texting
7 3.0

An online place where people talk with each other right now about a topic

is the two-word written form rather than the single-word spelling
chan
vschat room
  • UK
1 8.2

A short name for an online chat channel

is the standard longer form used in neutral contexts rather than an informal short name

Antonyms

isolation
172 3.7

A state of being alone and cut off from other people physically or emotionally

solitude
12 5.1

A quiet, private place away from other people

How Immediate

videophone
7 4.0
chat room
  • Texting
43 3.0
messaging
  • Texting
44 2.6
email
  • Texting
724 1.0
Usenet
  • Jargon
1 8.0

Surface Forms

chat room singular
chat rooms plural

Morphology

chat + room

The meaning 'a space for people to chat' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'chat' (a conversation) with 'room' (a space), with the obvious metaphorical extension of physical room to an online space. This compositional pattern is common across languages and in English virtual contexts, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Chat room comes from the simple picture of a room where people chat. Early internet services used virtual 'rooms' where many users met and talked at the same time, so today chat room means 'a website or online place where many people can talk together in real time'.