schmooze

English

WOTD – 19 July 2008

Alternative forms

• schmoose, schmooz, shmooze

Etymology

Borrowed from Yiddish שמועס (shmues), from Hebrew שְׁמוּעוֹת (sh'mu'ót), plural of שְׁמוּעָה (sh'mu'á, “report, piece of news, rumor”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: shmo͞oz, IPA^(key): /ʃmuːz/

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• Rhymes: -uːz

Verb

schmooze (third-person singular simple present schmoozes, present participle schmoozing, simple past and past participle schmoozed)

1. To talk casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.

   I wish he could do his job as well as he schmoozes with the boss.

   • 1996, Mark Brown, M.D., Emergency!, page xiii:

     Until about 4 A.M. there were almost no patients to be seen, and I enjoyed the chance to schmooze with my brother.

   • 2013 May 9, Norm Ornstein, “Obama's Hill Slump Has Nothing to Do With a Failure of Leadership”, in The Atlantic‎^[1]:

     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.

   • 2016 March 11, Dave Hill, “London mayor race: Goldsmith, Khan and co schmooze the business suits”, in The Guardian‎^[2], →ISSN:

     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?

Derived terms

• schmooseoisie
• schmooze-athon
• schmoozefest
• schmoozer
• schmoozy

 

Noun

schmooze (plural schmoozes)

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