kibitz
/ˈkɪbɪts/ verb
Forms kibitzes kibitzing kibitzed kibbitz
- verb (intransitive) To make small talk or idle chatter. “Louise and I used to head down to the coffee shop and just sit for hours and kibitz.”
- verb (intransitive) To give unsolicited or unwanted advice or make unhelpful or idle comments, especially to someone playing a game. “Quit kibitzing! You're giving away my hand!”
- verb (intransitive, transitive) To watch a card or board game.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Yiddish קיבעצן (kibetsn), cognate to German kiebitzen (“to look on”), from German Kiebitz (“lapwing”), from Middle High German gibiz (“plover”), imitative of its cry. Compare peewit.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “kibitz”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details