talk

1 of 2

verb

ˈtȯk 

talked; talking; talks

intransitive verb

1

a

: to express or exchange ideas by means of spoken words or sign language : converse

b

: to convey information or communicate in any way (as with signs or sounds)

can make a trumpet talk

make the computer talk to the printer

2

: to use (a language) for conversing or communicating : speak

… the peculiar French patois that he talked.

—Aaron Copland

3

a

: to speak idly : prate

b

: gossip

c

: to reveal secret or confidential information

4

: to give a talk : lecture

transitive verb

1

: to deliver or express in speech : utter

2

: to make the subject of conversation or discourse : discuss

talk business

3

: to influence, affect, or cause by talking

talked them into going

4

: to use (a language) for conversing or communicating : speak

talker noun

plural talkers

talk

2 of 2

noun

1

: the act or an instance of talking : speech

2

: a way of speaking : language

3

: pointless or fruitless discussion : verbiage

4

: a formal discussion, negotiation, or exchange of views

—often used in plural

5

a

: mention, report

b

: rumor, gossip

6

: the topic of interested comment, conversation, or gossip

it's the talk of the town

7

a

: address, lecture

b

: written analysis or discussion presented in an informal or conversational manner

8

: communicative sounds or signs resembling or functioning as talk

bird talk

Phrases

talk back

: to answer impertinently

talk sense

: to voice rational, logical, or sensible thoughts

talk through one's hat

: to voice irrational, illogical, or erroneous ideas

talk turkey

: to speak frankly or bluntly

Synonyms

Verb

• declaim
• descant
• discourse
• expatiate
• harangue
• lecture
• orate
• speak

Noun

• address
• declamation
• harangue
• oration
• peroration
• speech

Examples of talk in a Sentence

Verb

She never talks at the meetings.

He did most of the talking during dinner.

He loves to hear himself talk.

I think she's talking a lot of nonsense.

I can't talk right now. I'm running late.

They were talking in Spanish.

We talked on the phone until midnight.

Both sides in the dispute are now willing to talk.

They are in the conference room talking business.

She had laryngitis and couldn't talk.

Noun

the noted author's talk on the state of the modern novel

what good will all this talk do when we need to take action now?

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Petra came to talk to Gabriel late in the evening, when she was possessed by fears for her parents. —Daisy Hildyard, The New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2024

When talking with a reporter, Torbenson flipped through Givens’ case to get the basics. —John Diedrich, USA TODAY, 14 Dec. 2024

Noun

The annual Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS) in Vancouver, the world’s largest AI research conference, served as the backdrop for two thought-provoking talks by AI luminaries Jeff Dean of Google and Yann LeCun of Meta. —Craig S. Smith, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024

In another nod to history, Wright-Patterson was home to the 1995 peace talks that resulted in the Dayton Peace Accords between Yugoslavia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, which ended a three-and-half-year war in Bosnia. —Brad Lendon, CNN, 16 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English; akin to Old English talu tale

First Known Use

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing talk

• all talk
• all talk and no action
• baby talk
• back talk
• chalk talk
• cross talk
• double-talk
• fast-talk
• fine one to talk
• happy talk
• pep talk
• pillow talk
• real talk
• self-talk
• smack talk
• small talk
• speak/talk of the devil
• speak/talk the same language
• speak/talk with (a) forked tongue
• straight talk
• street talk
• sweet talk
• table talk
• talk a blue streak
• talk about
• talk a good game
• talk around
• talk at
• talk down
• talk down to
• talk into
• talk is cheap
• talk nineteen to the dozen
• talk of
• talk (oneself) out of (something)
• talk one's way
• talk one's way out of (something)
• talk out
• talk out of
• talk over
• talk radio
• talk round
• talk shop
• talk show
• talk someone's ear off
• talk (some) sense into/to
• talk the hind leg(s) off a donkey
• talk therapy
• talk the talk
• talk through
• talk tough
• talk trash
• talk up
• talk your head off
• the talk of the town
• trash talk

Kids Definition

talk

1 of 2 verb

ˈtȯk 

1

: to express in speech

talk sense

2

: to speak about : discuss

talk business

3

: to influence, affect, or cause by talking

talked us into agreeing

4

: to use for communicating

talk sign language

5

a

: to express or exchange ideas by means of spoken words

b

: to communicate in any way

the computer talks to the printer

6

a

: to spread gossip

b

: to reveal secret information

tried to make the suspect talk

talker noun

talk

2 of 2 noun

1

: the act or an instance of talking

2

: a way of speaking

3

: pointless or useless discussion

all talk and no action

4

: a formal discussion or exchange of views : conference

5

: rumor entry 1 sense 1, gossip

6

: the topic of comment or gossip

it's the talk of the town