talent

[ tal-uhnt ]
See synonyms for talent on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a special natural ability or aptitude: a talent for drawing.

  2. a capacity for achievement or success; ability: young men of talent.

  1. a talented person: The cast includes many of the theater's major talents.

  2. a group of persons with special ability: an exhibition of watercolors by the local talent.

  3. Movies and Television. professional actors collectively, especially star performers.

  4. a power of mind or body considered as given to a person for use and improvement: so called from the parable in Matthew 25:14–30.

  5. any of various ancient units of weight, as a unit of Palestine and Syria equal to 3000 shekels, or a unit of Greece equal to 6000 drachmas.

  6. any of various ancient Hebrew or Attic monetary units equal in value to that of a talent weight of gold, silver, or other metal.

  7. Obsolete. inclination or disposition.

Origin of talent

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English talente, from Latin talenta, plural of talentum, from Greek tálanton “balance, weight, monetary unit”

synonym study For talent

1. See ability.

Other words for talent

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use talent in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for talent

talent

/ (ˈtælənt) /


noun
  1. innate ability, aptitude, or faculty, esp when unspecified; above average ability: a talent for cooking; a child with talent

  2. a person or persons possessing such ability

  1. any of various ancient units of weight and money

  2. informal members of the opposite sex collectively, esp those living in a particular place: the local talent

  3. an obsolete word for inclination

Origin of talent

1
Old English talente, from Latin talenta, pl of talentum sum of money, from Greek talanton unit of money or weight; in Medieval Latin the sense was extended to ability through the influence of the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14–30)

Derived forms of talent

  • talented, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012