talk

[ tawk ]

verb (used without object)

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.

verb (used with object)

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

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. 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. to debate as a possibility; discuss:

   The two companies have been talking of a merger.

2. to reply to a command, request, etc., in a rude or disrespectful manner:

   Her father never allowed them to talk back.

3. 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.

4. to spend or consume (time) in talking:

   We talked away the tedious hours in the hospital.

5. 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.

6. 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. Compare filibuster ( def 5 ).
7. 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.

8. to speak condescendingly to; patronize:

   Children dislike adults who talk down to them.

9. 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.
10. 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.

talk

/ 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. intrusually foll byabout 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. now you're talking informal.
    now you're talking at last you're saying something agreeable
13. talk big
    talk big to boast or brag
14. talk shop
    talk shop to speak about one's work, esp when meeting socially, sometimes with the effect of excluding those not similarly employed
15. talk the talk
    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 walk See also walk
16. you can talk informal.
    you can talk you don't have to worry about doing a particular thing yourself
17. you can't talk informal.
    you can't talk you yourself are guilty of offending in the very matter you are decrying

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

Derived Forms

• ˈtalker, noun
• ˌtalkaˈbility, noun
• ˈtalkable, adjective

Other Words From

• talka·ble adjective
• talka·bili·ty noun
• talker noun
• inter·talk verb (used without object)
• non·talker noun
• over·talk verb
• under·talk noun
• un·talking adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of talk¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of talk¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. talk big, Informal. to speak boastingly; brag:

   He always talked big, but never amounted to anything.

2. 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.

3. talk to death,
   1. to impede or prevent the passage of (a bill) through filibustering.
   2. to talk to incessantly or at great length.

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

Synonym Study

See speak.

Example Sentences

It is encouraging to see many American companies, large and small, speak out about issues of racial inequity, though not all have backed up their talk with action.

From Fortune

Prime Minister Boris Johnson signaled he would let the talks collapse if a deal isn’t made before mid-October rather than compromise.

From Fortune

The first wave of responses was to move to online events, virtual summits and a variety of webinars, but there’s also the question of informal talks and sales meetings that need to be rethought in order to maintain the quality of interaction.

From Search Engine Land

“We had the talk,” said Laurel Rossi, chief partnerships officer at Organic.

From Digiday

Virtual events are the talk of marketing departments these days.

From Search Engine Land

What celebrity has started to talk about his or her eating disorder?

From The Daily Beast

Hopefully not overly close, but we talk about it in the episode how similar it is.

From The Daily Beast

Earlier this week, Huckabee ended his Fox News talk show so he could spend time mulling another bid for the Republican nomination.

From The Daily Beast

Those who come to the Dinner Party are self-selecting; they do want to talk about it.

From The Daily Beast

Surely all this graphic talk of gastrointestinal distress is making you queasy.

From The Daily Beast

And is this a mere fantastic talk, or is this a thing that could be done and that ought to be done?

From Project Gutenberg

Our talk ranged from the Panhandle to the Canada line, while our horses jogged steadily southward.

From Project Gutenberg

Above all, he was amazed to hear me talk of a mercenary standing army in the midst of peace and among a free people.

From Project Gutenberg

To talk German was beyond the sweep of my dizziest ambition, but an Italian runner or porter instantly presented himself.

From Project Gutenberg

He can't talk much, though; 'tain't good fur him; his lungs is out er kilter.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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

More About Talk

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. 

Where does talk come from?

The first records of talk come from around 1175. It comes from the Middle English verb talkien. It is related to the Old English talu, meaning “tale.”

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to talk?

• talkable (adjective)
• talkability (noun)
• talker (noun)
• intertalk (verb)
• nontalker (noun)
• overtalk (verb)

What are some synonyms for talk?

• speak
• chat
• say
• gossip 
• rumor
• conversation
• discussion

What are some words that share a root or word element with talk? 

• talkative
• talky
• talk about
• talk down to
• talk into
• talk of the town

What are some words that often get used in discussing talk?

• communication
• language
• loudly
• quietly
• friendly
• serious

How is talk used in real life?

Talk is a very common word that most often means to communicate using speech.

As I turn 43 my only regret is not having children sooner. Nearly every man I talk to says the same. “Wish I had one more, and started sooner.”

— Mike Cernovich (@Cernovich) November 17, 2020

I know there's a lot of talk going around but, no, I won't be joining the Spice Girls reunion tour

— David Lazarus (@Davidlaz) November 5, 2018

I had a talk with my Dad and realized age really does help in knowing what to do in certain situations.

— CLG Void (@gsmVoiD) January 20, 2016

Try using talk!

Is talk used correctly in the following sentence?

He decided to talk to his wife about buying a dog, and they discussed it for a long time.