Dictionary.com

cross talk

or cross-talk, crosstalk

noun

interference heard on a telephone or radio because of unintentional coupling to another communication channel.
incidental conversation; chatter, as opposed to formal discussion: The meeting was slowed by cross talk between board members.
British. witty, fast-paced dialogue, especially in a play, comic act, etc.; repartee.

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Origin of cross talk

First recorded in 1885–90

Words nearby cross talk

cross-stratification, cross street, cross-string, cross stroke, cross swords, cross talk, cross the Rubicon, crosstie, cross to bear, cross-tolerance, crosstown
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for cross talk

  • During the process of dressing there was a great deal of "cross-talk" going on at Queen's that night.

    Molly Brown's Sophomore Days|Nell Speed

  • If this were not so, cross-talk would exist between the telephones of the operators' positions connected to the same battery.

    Cyclopedia of Telephony and Telegraphy, Vol. 2|Kempster Miller

  • Don't answer back as though we were a vaudeville team doing a cross-talk act.

    The Man Upstairs|P. G. Wodehouse

  • The torments, inflicted on my suspense by a pair of cross-talk comedians, cannot be surpassed in hell.

    To Tell You the Truth|Leonard Merrick

British Dictionary definitions for cross talk

crosstalk
/ (ˈkrɒsˌtɔːk) /

noun

unwanted signals in one channel of a communications system as a result of a transfer of energy from one or more other channels
British rapid or witty talk or conversation
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