talk

American  

[tawk] / tɔk /

verb (used without object)

• talks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• talked,
  past participle,  past
• talking
  present participle

1. to communicate or exchange ideas, information, etc., by speaking.

   to talk about poetry.

2. to consult or confer.

   Talk with your adviser.

3. to spread a rumor or tell a confidence; gossip.

4. to chatter or prate.

   Synonyms:

   prattle

5. to employ speech; perform the act of speaking.

   to talk very softly; to talk into a microphone.

6. to deliver a speech, lecture, etc..

   The professor talked on the uses of comedy in the tragedies of Shakespeare.

7. to give or reveal confidential or incriminating information.

   After a long interrogation, the spy finally talked.

8. to communicate ideas by means other than speech, as by writing, signs, or signals.

9. Computers. to transmit data, as between computers or between a computer and a terminal.

10. to make sounds imitative or suggestive of speech.

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verb (used with object)

• talks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• talked,
  past participle,  past
• talking
  present participle

1. to express in words; utter.

   to talk sense.

2. to use (a specified language or idiom) in speaking or conversing.

   They talk French together for practice.

3. to discuss.

   to talk politics.

4. Informal. (used only in progressive tenses) to focus on; signify or mean; talk about.

   This isn't a question of a few hundred dollars—we're talking serious money.

5. to bring, put, drive, influence, etc., by talk.

   to talk a person to sleep; to talk a person into doing something.

noun

• talks
  plural

1. the act of talking; speech; conversation, especially of a familiar or informal kind.

2. an informal speech or lecture.

   Synonyms:

   confabulation, parley, dialogue, colloquy

3. (usually plural) a conference or negotiating session.

   peace talks.

4. report or rumor; gossip.

   There is a lot of talk going around about her.

5. a subject or occasion of talking, especially of gossip.

   Your wild escapades are the talk of the neighborhood.

   Synonyms:

   prattle

6. mere empty speech.

   That's just a lot of talk.

7. a way of talking.

   a halting, lisping talk.

8. language, dialect, or lingo.

9. signs or sounds imitative or suggestive of speech, as the noise made by loose parts in a mechanism.

verb phrase

1. talk over

   1. to weigh in conversation; consider; discuss.

   2. to cause (someone) to change an opinion; convince by talking.

      He became an expert at talking people over to his views.

2. talk up

   1. to promote interest in; discuss enthusiastically.

   2. to speak without hesitation; speak distinctly and openly.

      If you don't talk up now, you may not get another chance.

3. talk back to reply to a command, request, etc., in a rude or disrespectful manner.

   Her father never allowed them to talk back.

4. talk down

   1. to overwhelm by force of argument or by loud and persistent talking; subdue by talking.

   2. to speak disparagingly of; belittle.

   3. Also talk in. to give instructions to by radio for a ground-controlled landing, especially to a pilot who is unable to make a conventional landing because of snow, fog, etc.

5. talk out

   1. to talk until conversation is exhausted.

   2. to attempt to reach a settlement or understanding by discussion.

      We arrived at a compromise by talking out the problem.

   3. British Politics. to thwart the passage of (a bill, motion, etc.) by prolonging discussion until the session of Parliament adjourns.

6. talk down to to speak condescendingly to; patronize.

   Children dislike adults who talk down to them.

7. talk at

   1. to talk to in a manner that indicates that a response is not expected or wanted.

   2. to direct remarks meant for one person to another person present; speak indirectly to.

8. talk of to debate as a possibility; discuss.

   The two companies have been talking of a merger.

9. talk around to bring (someone) over to one's way of thinking; persuade.

   She sounded adamant over the phone, but I may still be able to talk her around.

10. talk away to spend or consume (time) in talking.

    We talked away the tedious hours in the hospital.

idioms

1. talk to death,

   1. to impede or prevent the passage of (a bill) through filibustering.

   2. to talk to incessantly or at great length.

2. talk big, to speak boastingly; brag.

   He always talked big, but never amounted to anything.

3. talk someone's head / ear off, to bore or weary someone by excessive talk; talk incessantly.

   All I wanted was a chance to read my book, but my seatmate talked my ear off.

talk British  

/ tɔːk /

verb

1. (intr; often foll by to or with) to express one's thoughts, feelings, or desires by means of words (to); speak (to)

2. (intr) to communicate or exchange thoughts by other means

   lovers talk with their eyes

3. to exchange ideas, pleasantries, or opinions (about)

   to talk about the weather

4. (intr) to articulate words; verbalize

   his baby can talk

5. (tr) to give voice to; utter

   to talk rubbish

6. (tr) to hold a conversation about; discuss

   to talk business

7. (intr) to reveal information

   the prisoner talked after torture

8. (tr) to know how to communicate in (a language or idiom)

   he talks English

9. (intr) to spread rumours or gossip

   we don't want the neighbours to talk

10. (intr) to make sounds suggestive of talking

11. (intr) to be effective or persuasive

    money talks

12. informal at last you're saying something agreeable

13. to boast or brag

14. to speak about one's work, esp when meeting socially, sometimes with the effect of excluding those not similarly employed

15. to speak convincingly on a particular subject, showing apparent mastery of its jargon and themes; often used in combination with the expression walk the walk See also walk

16. informal you don't have to worry about doing a particular thing yourself

17. informal you yourself are guilty of offending in the very matter you are decrying

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noun

1. a speech or lecture

   a talk on ancient Rome

2. an exchange of ideas or thoughts

   a business talk with a colleague

3. idle chatter, gossip, or rumour

   there has been a lot of talk about you two

4. a subject of conversation; theme

   our talk was of war

5. (often plural) a conference, discussion, or negotiation

   talks about a settlement

6. a specific manner of speaking

   children's talk

talk More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing talk

• all talk
• dirty joke (talk dirty)
• double talk
• heart to heart (talk)
• look who's talking
• money talks
• now you're talking
• small talk
• straight talk
• sweet talk

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Usage

What is a basic definition of talk? Talk means to use speech in order to communicate or exchange ideas. Talk also means to gossip. As a noun talk refers to a conversation. Talk has many other senses as both a verb and a noun. When you talk, you use spoken language to communicate rather than gestures or written words. People talk to each other every day when they have chats, tell jokes, argue, or negotiate.

• Real-life examples: You talked to someone today if you spoke to them about something. It is common for people to talk to each other over the phone or by using live video. People often get lonely when they have no one to talk to.
• Used in a sentence: When Juan talked to his parents about his grades, he felt better.

Talk can also mean to spread rumors or gossip. When you talk about someone, you are not talking to them but to other people.

• Used in a sentence: The mysterious new building on the edge of town got people talking about what it would be used for. 

Talk used in this same sense as a noun means gossip or rumors.

• Used in a sentence: There’s talk around the studio that the director is working on a secret movie project. 

Talk is also used as a noun to mean a conversation or a discussion.

• Used in a sentence: I had a serious talk with my daughter about sneaking animals into the house. 

Synonym Usage

See speak.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nontalker
  noun
• talkability
  noun
• talker
  noun
• undertalk
  noun
• overtalk
  verb
• intertalk
  verb (used without object)
• talkable
  adjective
• untalking
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• talks
  plural

Participles

• talking
  present
• talked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• talk
  simple
• talks
  simple
• have talked
  perfect
• has talked
  perfect
• am talking
  progressive
• are talking
  progressive
• is talking
  progressive
• have been talking
  perfect progressive
• has been talking
  perfect progressive

Past

• talked
  simple
• had talked
  perfect
• was talking
  progressive
• were talking
  progressive
• had been talking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will talk
  simple
• will have talked
  perfect
• will be talking
  progressive
• will have been talking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of talk

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English talk(i)en “to converse, speak,” derivative (with -k suffix) of tale “speech, discourse,” tale; cognate with Frisian (eastern dialect) talken

Explanation

When you open your mouth and say something, you talk. You tell someone something, or have a conversation, or exchange information. A speech can also be called a talk. Talk is a word that’s always connected to speaking. In a movie, a hero being tortured by bad guys might be told that they will "make him talk," which means they want him to reveal secret info. Someone who is "the talk of the town" is being gossiped about by everyone. If someone says, "We need to talk," it often means they have bad news for you. Anytime people are conversing, chatting, or blabbing, they're talking.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

talk talks talked talking

In Guiyang, it is difficult to find an agency where the staff is willing to talk.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

User talk of AI “has really surged and become a top concern for workers,” Glassdoor’s chief economist, Daniel Zhao, told MarketWatch.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

Flanked by police officers following his arrest, former MP Chalong Riewrang told reporters he had tried to talk to local official Thongchai Yenprasert about money.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

Li studied political science at a Taipei university but doesn’t talk politics with his friends, to avoid conflict given the rancor of Taiwan’s political scene.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

An Elder’s voice narrates, words in Tsalagi and talk of consequences.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

However, substantive talks are yet to begin, according to others.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

—Oil prices extend the previous session’s gains as talks to reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz waterway hit an impasse.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Nvidia has been in talks with OpenAI to provide a roughly $250 billion backstop for a data-center project, The Wall Street Journal reported last month.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

South Korea's dovish President Lee Jae Myung has reversed the stance of his hawkish predecessor since taking power in June 2025, offering Pyongyang talks without preconditions.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

Then eight people have to disappear to the well-curtained attic and lie on the floor unmoving, in complete silence, miserable and sweating, while Lubek talks and smokes cigarettes at my half kitchen table.

From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron

We talked about In re Turner pushing back against racialized apprenticeship laws to expand the 13th Amendment and inform the 14th Amendment.

From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026

And even though Ed Sheeran didn't make an appearance, this All-Ireland Fleadh will be talked about for the next 12 months, and for long after that.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

“My mother talked to the yaks when they were young,” Namgyal said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026

Choedup, the monk, said the day before Rangzen died he talked about Tibetans' individual responsibility to seek freedom.

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

‘Or for how I act, or what actions I might or might not support. But I’m sorry for how I talked to you, and I won’t do that again.’

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

"And everyone is talking about AI, so I want to understand how it works. So I did two masterclasses to understand it a little bit more and have more knowledge."

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

As the latest boom was starting back in January 2025, almost nobody was talking about memory as the next great AI trade.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

This summer suggested something else: people still crave the feeling of watching, cheering and talking about the same thing at the same time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

"We are talking about people who did not simply draw lines, but organized them according to recurring principles -- parallelisms, grids, rotations and systematic repetitions: a visual grammar in embryo."

From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026

The thing was, you see, that I could tell he liked being with me, talking to me, looking at me.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

Related Words

• argument
• conference
• consultation
• conversation
• deliberation
• dialogue
• interview
• meeting
• negotiation
• seminar
• symposium
• visit