variants
or shmooze
schmoozed or shmoozed; schmoozing or shmoozing
: to converse informally : chat
also
: to chat in a friendly and persuasive manner especially so as to gain favor, business, or connections
: to engage in schmoozing with
she schmoozed her professors
1
: a gathering or time devoted to schmoozing
2
: casual talk that is often gossipy or ingratiating
Did you know?
Schmooze (also spelled shmooze) comes from Yiddish schmues, meaning "talk," which itself is from Hebrew shěmu’ōth, "news" or "rumor." Although originally used to indicate simply talking in an informal and warm manner, the word now commonly suggests discussion for the purposes of gaining something.
Synonyms
Examples of schmooze in a Sentence
Verb
People will have time to schmooze during the cocktail hour.
spent every spare minute of the conference schmoozing with the industry's power players
Noun
had to master the art of the schmooze if she wanted to get ahead in the business
Recent Examples on the Web
Phil Hay, The Athletic, 24 Jan. 2025
Immediately after his victory, many tech leaders publicly congratulated Trump and started making moves to win his favor, including schmoozing with the incoming president at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and making donations to his inauguration committee.
—Jay Peters, The Verge, 19 Jan. 2025
Georgia Nicols, The Denver Post, 24 Jan. 2025
Instead, many attendees seemed to have caught a bad case of FOMO and were determined to grab every single opportunity to exchange ideas—and schmooze—with fellow participants.
—Grace Huckins, Robb Report, 20 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for schmooze 
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Verb
Nobody does schmoozing like FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
—Phil Hay, The Athletic, 24 Jan. 2025
Immediately after his victory, many tech leaders publicly congratulated Trump and started making moves to win his favor, including schmoozing with the incoming president at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and making donations to his inauguration committee.
—Jay Peters, The Verge, 19 Jan. 2025
Noun
This is also a great day to schmooze — romance is in the air!
—Georgia Nicols, The Denver Post, 24 Jan. 2025
Instead, many attendees seemed to have caught a bad case of FOMO and were determined to grab every single opportunity to exchange ideas—and schmooze—with fellow participants.
—Grace Huckins, Robb Report, 20 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for schmooze
Articles Related to schmooze
Dictionary Entries Near schmooze
Cite this Entry
“Schmooze.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/schmooze. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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