Meanings
verbchat up (third-person singular simple present chats up, present participle chatting up, simple past and past participle chatted up)
present singular third person chats up · participle present chatting up · participle past chatted up · past chatted up
- idiomatictransitiveTo talk to (someone) in a friendly, open, or casual manner, sometimes also in a charming or affected manner, usually to curry favor, and sometimes flirtatiously with the intention of establishing a romantic or sexual encounter or relationship with that person.
He spent all evening chatting her up.
1 more example
Have you been chatting up my girlfriend?
Synonyms & antonyms
verbtalk or behave amorously, without serious intentions
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 搭訕 /搭讪
- 搭訕 /搭讪 (dāshàn)talk in a charming manner
Dutch versieren
- versierentalk in a charming manner
Finnish liehitellä
- liehitellätalk in a charming manner
French draguer, emballer
- draguertalk in a charming manner
- emballerattempt to establish a sexual relationship
- allumerattempt to establish a sexual relationship
- draguerattempt to establish a sexual relationship
German anquatschen, anbaggern
- anquatschentalk in a charming manner
- anbaggernattempt to establish a sexual relationship
Polish gawędzić, podrywać
- gawędzićtalk in a charming manner
- podrywaćtalk in a charming manner
- poderwaćtalk in a charming manner
- flirtowaćtalk in a charming manner
- podrywaćattempt to establish a sexual relationship
- poderwaćattempt to establish a sexual relationship
Portuguese cantar, dar em cima de
- cantartalk in a charming manner
- dar em cima deattempt to establish a sexual relationship
Spanish chamuyar, camelar
- chamuyartalk in a charming manner
- camelartalk in a charming manner
- tirar los trastostalk in a charming manner
- echar los perrostalk in a charming manner
- cepillartalk in a charming manner
- dar jabón atalk in a charming manner
- ligotearattempt to establish a sexual relationship
- tratar de ligar conattempt to establish a sexual relationship
Vietnamese bắt chuyện, thả thính
- bắt chuyệntalk in a charming manner
- thả thínhtalk in a charming manner
- tán tỉnhtalk in a charming manner
Cite this entry
APA
chat up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chat%20up
MLA
“chat up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chat%20up. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chat up,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chat%20up.
Source: chat up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.