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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

schmooze en · NOUN

Pronunciation

Etymology

Borrowed from Yiddish שמועס (shmues), from Hebrew שְׁמוּעוֹת (sh'mu'ót), plural of שְׁמוּעָה (sh'mu'á, “report, piece of news, rumor”). Cognate with German schmusen (“to cuddle”, older “to flirt, flatter, schmooze”).

Meanings

  1. A casual conversation, especially one held in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
schmooz alternative lexicographic
schmoose alternative lexicographic
schmoozes Number=Plur lexicographic
shmooze alternative lexicographic

schmooze en · VERB

Pronunciation

Etymology

Borrowed from Yiddish שמועס (shmues), from Hebrew שְׁמוּעוֹת (sh'mu'ót), plural of שְׁמוּעָה (sh'mu'á, “report, piece of news, rumor”). Cognate with German schmusen (“to cuddle”, older “to flirt, flatter, schmooze”).

Meanings

  1. (intransitive) To talk casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.
    • Until about 4 A.M. there were almost no patients to be seen, and I enjoyed the chance to schmooze with my brother. 1996, Mark Brown, M.D., Emergency!, page xiii:
    • On election night, Trump campaign staff set up a war room in Trump’s office at Mar-a-Lago, poring over incoming returns as the candidate schmoozed in the club’s ballroom with Musk and UFC chief Dana White. 2024 December 12, Eric Cortellessa, “Donald Trump 2024 TIME Person of the Year”, in Time, archived from the original on 22 Dec 2024:
    • I wish he could do his job as well as he schmoozes with the boss.
    • But the issue goes beyond that, to a willful ignorance of history. No one schmoozed more or better with legislators in both parties than Clinton. 2013 May 9, Norm Ornstein, “Obama's Hill Slump Has Nothing to Do With a Failure of Leadership”, in The Atlantic:
    • On Thursday he was back in the capitalist hot hub, this time in the company of Goldsmith for a hustings at the home of KPMG organised by the LCCI and other business groups. Who would schmooze the suits to best effect? 2016 March 11, Dave Hill, “London mayor race: Goldsmith, Khan and co schmooze the business suits”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
shmooze alternative lexicographic
schmooz alternative lexicographic
schmoozing Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
schmoose alternative lexicographic
schmoozed Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
schmoozed Tense=Past lexicographic
schmoozes Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic

Deriveds

schmoozer · schmooseoisie · schmooze-athon · schmoozy · schmoozefest

Translations (2)

es congraciarse (Translations) · es codearse (Translations)