chatted

Chatted is the past tense and past participle of the verb chat. It denotes engaging in informal talk with one or more people. The sense covers both spoken conversation and text-based communication, including instant messaging, chat rooms, and online messages. In everyday use, "we chatted for a while" implies a relaxed, friendly exchange, while "they chatted online with colleagues" emphasizes digital interaction.

Historically, chat originated as casual spoken conversation. The computer sense of chat emerged with early online communities in the late 20th century, when users began exchanging text messages in real time. Over time, "chatted" became common in written records of both offline and online conversations, including chat logs and messaging histories.

Grammar and usage: chatted is a regular verb; the present tense is chat, and the present participle is chatting. It is typically followed by prepositions such as "with" or "about" (e.g., "chatted with a friend", "chatted about the project"). The expression "chat someone up" or "chat up" is a distinct idiom meaning to flirt, and is not governed by the same semantic frame as simple past tense narration.

See also: chat.