A chatterbox is someone who talks excessively and continuously, especially about trivial, unimportant, or irrelevant things; someone who engages in idle talk without saying much of consequence or import.
This idiom is usually applied to enthusiastic and talkative children.
Also spelled:
• chatter box
• chatter-box
Origin of Chatterbox
Chatterbox is an idiomatic term or colloquialism in English that first appeared in the 1700s, similar to now archaic terms such as rattle-basket (c. 1600), prate-apace (1630s), and twattle-basket (1680s).
The word chatter is an onomatopoeic word referring to the sounds of talking, similar to such words as chit, or chitter, which also recall the sounds of birds. Since the mid-1700s, it has been used to mean foolish talk, or idle, inane banter. It was combined with box, meaning a container of something, around 1774.
Movie Citations
“He’s just a little nervous. He’s really quite a chatterbox. Talk, you boneheaded dolt.” — Shrek (2001)
“Sir, is this what you’ve been working on? This is why no one sees you?” “Young man, nobody likes a chatterbox.” — Robots (2005)
“Boy, that guy was a real chatterbox, wasn’t he? I didn’t think he was ever gonna stop with the story.” — Bottle Rocket (1996)
“Just turned 2. Already talking a mile a minute. Just talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk. A regular little chatterbox.” — The Man (2005)
“I spend whole days up here. Doing schoolwork, whatever. I’m homeschooled. That’s why I’m such a chatterbox.” —Dolphin Tale (2011)
Sentence Examples
“My little niece is such a chatterbox but she’s really funny!”
“This guy sitting next to me at the movie was a total chatterbox. And he wasn’t even talking about the movie!”
“I can’t be in a room for more than ten minutes with Mark. He never stops talking.” “Yeah, he’s a real chatterbox.”