What does chitting mean?
Chitting is an informal word for talking or chatting, usually in a relaxed and friendly way. It is especially common in British English, where expressions such as a bit of chitting or chitting with a neighbour convey an informal sense of conversation and sociability. The related phrase chit-chat is more widely used and may refer either to casual conversation or to the activity of exchanging light remarks. Chitting also has a specialist horticultural meaning: seed potatoes are left to sprout, or chit, before being planted, and this process is itself called potato chitting. A third sense, now rare or archaic, describes the making of a high-pitched chirping sound, especially by a bird. These meanings make chitting unusually varied: it can describe social interaction, a stage in plant growth, or an old-fashioned description of a natural sound. In ordinary contemporary use, however, it is most often understood as the activity of casual conversation.
Casual, informal conversation or the activity of talking casually; more rarely, the sprouting of seed potatoes before planting.
"There was some pleasant chitting while we waited for the kettle to boil."
The social sense is usually uncountable and chiefly British. In horticulture, potato chitting refers specifically to producing shoots on seed potatoes before planting.
To talk casually and informally; to sprout, especially as a seed potato before planting. Rarely and archaically, to make a chirping sound.
"The seed potatoes are chitting on the windowsill."
The gardening use is normally intransitive. The archaic sound-related use survives mainly in regional or literary contexts.
The noun is normally uncountable when referring to the activity of talking; the plural chittings is possible but uncommon.
"A little chitting helped break the silence."
One word can mean small talk at a party, potatoes waking up in a box, and, in its rarest old sense, a bird's chirp.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of chitting
The familiar social sense developed from the verb chat, with the ending -ing forming a noun for the activity of talking. The horticultural sense belongs to a separate, older word meaning a sprout or a seed potato beginning to sprout, and refers specifically to allowing seed potatoes to develop shoots before planting. A rare older meaning connected with making a chirping sound also existed in English.
How chitting is actually used
The conversational sense is informal and is especially associated with British English, although it is understood in American English; chit-chat is generally more common today. The potato sense is specialist horticultural usage, while the chirping sense is now rare or archaic.
Easily confused with chitting
Chit-chat is the more familiar noun for casual conversation, whereas chitting can also name the horticultural process of sprouting seed potatoes.