What does confab mean?
A confab is an informal, friendly discussion — essentially a chat, especially one between a small number of people. The word is a casual shortening of 'confabulation', which English borrowed from the Latin 'confabulari', meaning 'to talk together' or 'to converse'. While its long parent form survives mainly in psychology and medicine, where 'confabulation' describes a patient's unconscious invention of false memories to fill gaps, the clipped version 'confab' keeps things light. It carries a warm, slightly old-fashioned or whimsical connotation: calling a meeting a 'confab' signals that this is an easy-going exchange of views rather than a formal proceeding. Journalists and columnists have long used it for the quick huddles politicians hold backstage or the private têtes-à-têtes of public figures. Both a noun ('we had a good confab') and, less commonly, an informal verb ('they confabbed over tea'), it remains a charmingly compact way to describe plain human conversation.
An informal, friendly discussion or chat.
"After the match there was much cheerful confab over pints in the clubhouse."
Usually preceded by an article or adjective ('a quick confab', 'a little confab'); the tone is light and conversational.
To engage in an informal, friendly discussion; to chat.
"The two old friends confabbed happily on the porch all afternoon."
Informal and less common than the noun form; typically used intransitively.
Standard plural; used when referring to multiple informal discussions.
"Their late-night confabs became a cherished ritual during the conference."
It started life as pure Latin — 'to talk together' — and got so chummy with English speakers that by the 1700s people were casually clipping it down to 'confab', the friendliest-sounding word for a chat in the language.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of confab
Confab comes from the Latin verb 'confabulari', formed from 'con-' ('together') and 'fabulari' ('to talk'), the same root that gives us 'fable' — so at heart it means literally 'to talk together'. English adopted the full form 'confabulation' in the early 15th century, and speakers later clipped it down to the snappier 'confab', which was well established by the early 18th century. Its sibling words include 'confabulate' and 'confabulation', which today carry the specialised psychiatric sense of inventing memories without intending to deceive.
Related word forms
How confab is actually used
'Confab' is distinctly informal and often affectionate or humorous in tone — it suggests a cosy, low-stakes chat rather than a serious meeting. The clipped noun form is more common than the full Latin-derived 'confabulation' outside medical or psychological contexts. It is well established in both British and American English.
Easily confused with confab
Confabulation is both the formal medical term for filling gaps in memory with fabricated details and simply the longer, more formal synonym for a chat; 'confab' itself is just the casual word for an informal talk.
A confabulist is someone who fabricates stories or memories, whereas 'confab' refers only to the informal discussion itself and implies no fabrication.