Meanings
- uncountableThe informal or casual conversations that colleagues have with each other at the office, often while taking a break to get a drink of water.
Synonyms: water cooler banter, water cooler chat, water cooler gossip
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe informal or casual conversations that colleagues have with each other at the office, often while taking a break to get a drink of water.
Origin
water cooler + talk; traditionally workers have convened at water coolers where natural workplace socializing, gossip, or updates about pop culture or personal lives take place.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
water cooler talk. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/water%20cooler%20talk
“water cooler talk.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/water%20cooler%20talk. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “water cooler talk,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/water%20cooler%20talk.
Source: water cooler talk on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.