talk

[tawk]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR talk ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

to communicate or exchange ideas, information, etc., by speaking: to talk about poetry.

to consult or confer: Talk with your adviser.

to spread a rumor or tell a confidence; gossip.

to chatter or prate.

to employ speech; perform the act of speaking: to talk very softly; to talk into a microphone.

to deliver a speech, lecture, etc.: The professor talked on the uses of comedy in the tragedies of Shakespeare.

to give or reveal confidential or incriminating information: After a long interrogation, the spy finally talked.

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

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

to make sounds imitative or suggestive of speech.

verb (used with object)

to express in words; utter: to talk sense.

to use (a specified language or idiom) in speaking or conversing: They talk French together for practice.

to discuss: to talk politics.

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.

to bring, put, drive, influence, etc., by talk: to talk a person to sleep; to talk a person into doing something.

noun

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

an informal speech or lecture.

a conference or negotiating session: peace talks.

report or rumor; gossip: There is a lot of talk going around about her.

a subject or occasion of talking, especially of gossip: Your wild escapades are the talk of the neighborhood.

mere empty speech: That's just a lot of talk.

a way of talking: a halting, lisping talk.

language, dialect, or lingo.

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

Verb Phrases

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.

talk at,

to talk to in a manner that indicates that a response is not expected or wanted.
to direct remarks meant for one person to another person present; speak indirectly to.

talk away, to spend or consume (time) in talking: We talked away the tedious hours in the hospital.

talk back, to reply to a command, request, etc., in a rude or disrespectful manner: Her father never allowed them to talk back.

talk down,

to overwhelm by force of argument or by loud and persistent talking; subdue by talking.
to speak disparagingly of; belittle.
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.

talk down to, to speak condescendingly to; patronize: Children dislike adults who talk down to them.

talk of, to debate as a possibility; discuss: The two companies have been talking of a merger.

talk out,

to talk until conversation is exhausted.
to attempt to reach a settlement or understanding by discussion: We arrived at a compromise by talking out the problem.
British Politics.to thwart the passage of (a bill, motion, etc.) by prolonging discussion until the session of Parliament adjourns.Compare filibuster(def 5).

talk over,

to weigh in conversation; consider; discuss.
to cause (someone) to change an opinion; convince by talking: He became an expert at talking people over to his views.

talk up,

to promote interest in; discuss enthusiastically.
to speak without hesitation; speak distinctly and openly: If you don't talk up now, you may not get another chance.

Idioms

talk big, Informal. to speak boastingly; brag: He always talked big, but never amounted to anything.

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 to death,

to impede or prevent the passage of (a bill) through filibustering.
to talk to incessantly or at great length.

Origin of talk

1175–1225; Middle English talk(i)en to converse, speak, derivative (with -k suffix) of tale speech, discourse, tale; cognate with Frisian (E dial.) talken

Related formstalk·a·ble, adjectivetalk·a·bil·i·ty, nountalk·er, nounin·ter·talk, verb (used without object)non·talk·er, nouno·ver·talk, verbun·der·talk, nounun·talk·ing, adjective

Synonyms for talk

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR talk ON THESAURUS.COM

1. See speak. 4, 20. prattle. 34. discourse. 17. colloquy, dialogue, parley, confabulation.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for talk

lecture, report, conversation, rumor, negotiation, conference, dialogue, deliberation, visit, argument, consultation, interview, symposium, meeting, seminar, speech, reveal, use, describe, express

Examples from the Web for talk

Contemporary Examples of talk

What celebrity has started to talk about his or her eating disorder?
How Skinny Is Too Skinny? Israel Bans ‘Underweight’ Models
Carrie Arnold
January 8, 2015
Hopefully not overly close, but we talk about it in the episode how similar it is.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS
Marlow Stern
January 8, 2015
Earlier this week, Huckabee ended his Fox News talk show so he could spend time mulling another bid for the Republican nomination.
Huckabee 2016: Bend Over and Take It Like a Prisoner!
Olivia Nuzzi
January 8, 2015
Those who come to the Dinner Party are self-selecting; they do want to talk about it.
Everyone at This Dinner Party Has Lost Someone
Samantha Levine
January 6, 2015
I need to resist my urge to talk them into my truth, just so I can feel more comfortable and secure.
In 2015, Let’s Try for More Compassion
Gene Robinson
January 4, 2015

Historical Examples of talk

They rile me—that talk about 'people in the humbler walks of life.'
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
The laughter and talk were as little subdued as the scheme of the rooms.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
I haven't told you yet the reason—a new reason—why you must talk to Avice.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
People can talk all they want to about your bein' just a dub—I won't believe 'em.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
The music flooded the hall and the room, so that the talk died low.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson

British Dictionary definitions for talk

talk

verb

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

(intr) to communicate or exchange thoughts by other meanslovers talk with their eyes

(intr usually foll by about) to exchange ideas, pleasantries, or opinions (about)to talk about the weather

(intr) to articulate words; verbalizehis baby can talk

(tr) to give voice to; utterto talk rubbish

(tr) to hold a conversation about; discussto talk business

(intr) to reveal informationthe prisoner talked after torture

(tr) to know how to communicate in (a language or idiom)he talks English

(intr) to spread rumours or gossipwe don't want the neighbours to talk

(intr) to make sounds suggestive of talking

(intr) to be effective or persuasivemoney talks

now you're talking informal at last you're saying something agreeable

talk big to boast or brag

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

talk the talk to speak convincingly on a particular subject, showing apparent mastery of its jargon and themes; often used in combination with the expression walk the walkSee also walk (def. 18b)

you can talk informal you don't have to worry about doing a particular thing yourself

you can't talk informal you yourself are guilty of offending in the very matter you are decrying

noun

a speech or lecturea talk on ancient Rome

an exchange of ideas or thoughtsa business talk with a colleague

idle chatter, gossip, or rumourthere has been a lot of talk about you two

a subject of conversation; themeour talk was of war

(often plural) a conference, discussion, or negotiationtalks about a settlement

a specific manner of speakingchildren's talk

Derived Formstalkable, adjectivetalkability, nountalker, noun

Word Origin for talk

C13 talkien to talk; related to Old English talu tale, Frisian talken to talk

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

Word Origin and History for talk

early 13c., talken, probably a diminutive or frequentative form related to Middle English tale "story," ultimately from the same source as tale (cf. hark from hear, stalk from steal) and replacing that word as a verb. East Frisian has talken "to talk, chatter, whisper." Related: Talked; talking.

To talk shop is from 1854. To talk turkey is from 1824, supposedly from an elaborate joke about a swindled Indian. To talk back "answer impudently or rudely" is from 1869. Phrase talking head is by 1966 in the jargon of television production, "an in-tight closeup of a human head talking on television." In reference to a person who habitually appears on television in talking-head shots (usually a news anchor), by 1970. The phrase is used earlier, in reference to the well-known magic trick (e.g. Senior Wences talking head-in-the-box trick on the "Ed Sullivan Show"), and to actual talking heads in mythology around the world (e.g. Orpheus, Bran).

late 15c., "speech, discourse, conversation," from talk (v.). Meaning "informal lecture or address" is from 1859. Talk of the town first recorded 1620s. Talk show first recorded 1965; talk radio is from 1985.

Idioms and Phrases with talk

talk

In addition to the idioms beginning with talk

talk around
talk at
talk back
talk big
talk dirty
talk down
talk down to
talked out
talk into
talk of the town, the
talk out
talk out of
talk over
talk sense
talk shop
talk someone's arm off
talk through one's hat
talk to
talk turkey
talk up

also see:

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