It goes on incessantly even when idle (7)
I believe the answer is:
chatter
'idle' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both to do with contact as well as being verbs in their base form.
Perhaps there's a link between them I don't understand?
'it goes on incessantly even' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'it' could be 't' (abbreviation. e.g. in 'tis) and 't' is found in the answer.
'on' could be 'at' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'at' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'cher' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'when' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for chatter that I've seen before include "Talk idly" , "Rabbit on" , "Informal talk" , "Talk incessantly" , "Talk noisily" .)