- the interchange through speech of information, ideas, etc; spoken communication
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
con•ver•sa•tion /ˌkɑnvɚˈseɪʃən/USA pronunciation
n.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- informal talk;
oral communication between people:[uncountable]hadn't mastered the art of conversation at cocktail parties. - an instance of this:[countable]long conversations on the phone.
con•ver•sa•tion
(kon′vər sā′shən),USA pronunciation n.
- informal interchange of thoughts, information, etc., by spoken words;
oral communication between persons;
talk;
colloquy. - an instance of this.
- association or social intercourse;
intimate acquaintance. - LawSee criminal conversation.
- the ability to talk socially with others:She writes well but has no conversation.
- [Obs.]
- behavior or manner of living.
- close familiarity;
intimate acquaintance, as from constant use or study.
- Latin conversātiōn- (stem of conversātiō) society, intercourse, equivalent. to conversāt(us) past participle of conversārī to associate with (see converse1) + -iōn- -ion
- Middle English conversacio(u)n 1300–50
- 1. dialogue, chat.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
conversation /ˌkɒnvəˈseɪʃən/ n
'conversation' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
abuzz
- address
- background
- bail up
- barge
- butt
- buttonhole
- buzz
- call
- catch up
- chat
- chatline
- chatty
- chime in
- chinwag
- collocutor
- colloquial
- colloquialism
- colloquium
- colloquy
- commune
- confab
- converse
- conversational
- conversationalist
- conversation piece
- criminal conversation
- crosstalk
- cut off
- devil
- dialogue
- dine out
- discourse
- discuss
- disputation
- drop
- eavesdrop
- eclogue
- edgeways
- engage
- formal
- gabfest
- geisha
- get
- gossip
- hang up
- have
- heart-to-heart
- horn in
- amuse