To jabber means to talk rapidly in an excited or nonsensical way, often making it hard for others to follow what you're saying. When someone jabbers, words tumble out so fast that they might slur together, jump from topic to topic, or not make complete sense. A nervous student might jabber through a presentation, speaking so quickly that the audience can barely understand the words.

The word captures that specific quality of speech that's more about the frantic pace and jumbled sound than the actual content. You might hear someone jabbering excitedly about their favorite movie, racing through plot points faster than anyone can follow. Young children sometimes jabber in a mix of real words and nonsense sounds when they're learning to talk, creating their own enthusiastic stream of communication.

Jabber can also be a noun: you might complain about the constant jabber of voices in a crowded cafeteria, where everyone seems to be talking at once in an overwhelming din. The word often suggests speech that's more annoying or incomprehensible than meaningful, though it's not always negative. Sometimes people jabber away happily with close friends, speaking in their own rapid-fire shorthand that outsiders find impossible to follow.