Meanings
plural gabfests
- USslangAn occasion (such as a meeting) where people talk at length.
Oh, we've been talking about constitutional reform since 1927. I've been going to these gabfests since the fifties.
2002, Trudeau (miniseries)1 more example
But he could as well have been talking about the confabulations of the food summit in Rome earlier this year or the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg next month. I have no doubt critics are dusting off the cliches for that one, preparing to denounce one more gabfest.
2002 July 29, Shashi Tharoor, “In Defense of Gabfests”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
nounlight informal conversation for social occasions
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Germanic*gabbōną
- Old Norsegabb
- Middle Englishgab
- Englishgab
- Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*dʰéh₁s
- Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁stos
- Proto-Italic*θēstos
- Proto-Italic*fēstos
- Latinfēstus
- Latinfestum
- Middle High Germanfëst
- GermanFest
- Englishfest
- Englishgabfest
Translations
Bulgarian седянка
- седянка (sedjanka)an occasion (such as a meeting) where people talk at length
Cite this entry
gabfest. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gabfest
“gabfest.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gabfest. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gabfest,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gabfest.
Source: gabfest on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.