What it means
Yakking is going on and on and not knowing when to shut it. It's chat that keeps flapping long after anyone cared, usually pointless, annoying, or just way too much. You hear it in stuff like stop yakking or he's been yakking on all morning. It's close to yapping and can be said with an eye-roll or a laugh. In another meaning, yakking can also mean throwing up.
Usage examples
"He’s been yakking on about his new car since lunch. I nodded twice, made a brew, and let him crack on."
"Mum and Auntie Pat were yakking on the kitchen phone for two hours about the new neighbours from Slough, the kettle boiled three times, and nothing about my tea got resolved."
"The bloke at the gym in Leeds was yakking to the receptionist about his recent holiday in Faro while a queue of five sweaty members formed quietly behind him with protein shakes."
"She kept yakking on through the whole Uber ride about crypto, her ex, and some juice cleanse, and the driver looked spiritually exhausted by the last traffic light."
"We were meant to order ages ago, but Dan was still yakking to the waiter about hot sauce rankings like he was hosting a podcast no one asked for."
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Where it comes from
Yak for empty, noisy talk is recorded in English from the early 20th century. It's generally treated as an echoic slang word, built to sound sharp and repetitive, which fits the sense perfectly. Yakking is the natural verb form, and yacking shows up as a common spelling variant too.
Other ways to say it
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