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Who was the original host of The Tonight Show, the first successful late-night TV talk show?

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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

Team boss Frederic Vasseur, who said he would talk to the drivers before discussing this in the media, has some smoothing out to do before this weekend's race in Madrid.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

“The great miracle of ‘Star Trek’ is that it allows us to talk about the current state of humanity through the prism of science fiction.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

Schulz said it’s important to talk to parents about their finances even when such talks can be uncomfortable or even taboo in your family.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

“I wanted to stay there all day and talk to her more.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

Also, Nollie had things to talk about: the year before she had started Normal School.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Both US and Canadian officials have said they would like to strike a trade deal, but no new talks have been scheduled since negotiations collapsed in late August.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

Witkoff and Kushner met Putin in Moscow on Saturday, before holding separate talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in their first official trip to Kyiv.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

But talks broke down in dramatic fashion, leaving both sides aggrieved and accusing the other of negotiating in bad faith.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

At the same time, Ford has held talks with China’s upstart BYD—now one of the biggest carmakers in the world—about securing batteries for future hybrid vehicles, The Wall Street Journal has reported.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

Rue gently takes the phone from me and talks to Grandma.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

The Great Wealth Transfer has been talked about too much, and until it has actually happened, I don’t think people should count on it,” said Trevor Ausen, a financial adviser with Authentic Life Financial Planning.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

"I should have talked to the crowd a little, asking them to come back and cheer me on for that match. I'm definitely going to need them," she said.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

Bourgeois remembers their first meeting taking place on a leather sofa in a hotel outside Basingstoke, where they mostly talked about what cars they owned.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

In its statement, the university did not mention Mayich by name because of “privacy interests” but talked about an ASU hockey player “who collapsed during an outdoor workout on Aug. 20” and “remains hospitalized.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

“You told me to talk to Jonah like you talked to Liam, but I couldn’t,” I say.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

The Red Bull driver is renowned for his straight talking but now, as he discusses his 2026 season so far in an exclusive interview with BBC Sport, he is at his most uncompromising.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

Before I got on my boat, I got to talking to Regina.

From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026

Financial influencers on TikTok garner hundreds of thousands of views talking about Coast FI.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

“Just a handful of days ago, where he was at, talking to him the day after, it just felt that a few days could potentially be of benefit,” Roberts said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026

“You tried, this time. But remember—you have no cards except the three for you, Opa, and Tante Betsie. There is no underground activity here, you don’t understand what they’re talking about. . . .”

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Related Words

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