yackety-yak

noun

prolonged chatter; uninterrupted, idle talk; gossip

Similar
gossip
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounyackety-yak (countable and uncountable, plural yackety-yaks)

plural yackety-yaks · alternative yakety-yak · alternative yakkety-yak · alternative yakity-yak · alternative yackety-yack · alternative yackedy-yack · alternative yackedy yack

  1. countableslanguncountableprolonged chatter; uninterrupted, idle talk; gossip

    Synonyms: gossip

verbyackety-yak (third-person singular simple present yackety-yaks, present participle yackety-yakking, simple past and past participle yackety-yakked)

present singular third person yackety-yaks · participle present yackety-yakking · participle past yackety-yakked · past yackety-yakked · alternative yakety-yak · alternative yakkety-yak · alternative yakity-yak · alternative yackety-yack · alternative yackedy-yack · alternative yackedy yack

  1. intransitiveslangTo talk pointlessly and uninterruptedly.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounprolonged chatter; uninterrupted, idle talk; gossip

Similar
gossip
Also see
chatter

Origin

Resembles yak (“to chatter”) + -ety or yacket + -y with reduplication; all are ultimately imitative or sound-symbolic in origin.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

yackety-yak. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yackety-yak

MLA

“yackety-yak.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yackety-yak. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “yackety-yak,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/yackety-yak.

Source: yackety-yak on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.