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Talk

//tɔːk// noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A conversation or discussion; usually serious, but informal. countable, uncountable

    "We need to have a talk about your homework."

  2. 2
    the act of giving a talk to an audience wordnet
  3. 3
    A lecture. countable, uncountable

    "There is a talk on Shakespeare tonight."

  4. 4
    an exchange of ideas via conversation wordnet
  5. 5
    Gossip; rumour. uncountable

    "There's been talk lately about the two of them."

Show 8 more definitions
  1. 6
    discussion; (‘talk about’ is a less formal alternative for ‘discussion of’) wordnet
  2. 7
    A major topic of social discussion. countable, uncountable

    "She is the talk of the day."

  3. 8
    idle gossip or rumor wordnet
  4. 9
    A customary conversation by parent(s) or guardian(s) with their (often teenage) child about a reality of life; in particular:; A customary conversation in which parent(s) explain sexual intercourse to their child. countable, uncountable

    "Have you had the talk with Jay yet? I found a condom in his room."

  5. 10
    a speech that is open to the public wordnet
  6. 11
    A customary conversation by parent(s) or guardian(s) with their (often teenage) child about a reality of life; in particular:; A customary conversation in which the parent(s) of a black child explain the racism and violence they may face, especially when interacting with police, and strategies to manage it. US, countable, uncountable

    "Later, I made sure to have the talk with my son about being a black boy, […]"

  7. 12
    Empty boasting, promises or claims. uncountable

    "The party leader's speech was all talk."

  8. 13
    Meeting to discuss a particular matter. countable, plural-normally, uncountable

    "The leaders of the G8 nations are currently in talks over nuclear weapons."

Verb
  1. 1
    To communicate, usually by means of speech. intransitive

    "Let's sit down and talk."

  2. 2
    deliver a lecture or talk wordnet
  3. 3
    To discuss; to talk about. informal, transitive

    "They sat down to talk business."

  4. 4
    divulge confidential information or secrets wordnet
  5. 5
    To speak (a certain language). transitive

    "We talk French sometimes."

Show 10 more definitions
  1. 6
    express in speech wordnet
  2. 7
    Used to emphasise the importance, size, complexity etc. of the thing mentioned. informal, transitive

    "Are you interested in the job? They're talking big money."

  3. 8
    reveal information wordnet
  4. 9
    To confess, especially implicating others. intransitive, slang

    "Suppose he talks?"

  5. 10
    exchange thoughts; talk with wordnet
  6. 11
    To criticize someone for something of which one is guilty oneself. intransitive

    "I am not the one to talk."

  7. 12
    use language wordnet
  8. 13
    To gossip; to create scandal. intransitive

    "People will talk."

  9. 14
    To manifest outwardly in speech, as opposed to reality or action. transitive

    "Remember that Christ and Christianity may not always be the same thing; e.g. Jerry Falwell talks "Christianity" but practices hatred […] which is diametrically opposed to what Jesus really taught."

  10. 15
    To influence someone to express something, especially a particular stance or viewpoint or in a particular manner. informal

    "That's not like you at all, Jared. The drugs are talking. Snap out of it!"

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English talken, talkien, from Old English *tealcian (“to talk, chat”), from Proto-West Germanic *talkōn, from Proto-Germanic *talkōną (“to talk, chatter”), frequentative form of Proto-Germanic *talōną (“to count, recount, tell”), from Proto-Indo-European *dol-, *del- (“to aim, calculate, adjust, count”), equivalent to tell + -k. Cognate with Scots talk (“to talk”), Low German taalken (“to talk”). Related also to Danish tale (“to talk, speak”), Swedish tala (“to talk, speak, say, chatter”), Icelandic tala (“to talk”), Norwegian tale (“speech”), Old English talian (“to count, calculate, reckon, account, consider, think, esteem, value; argue; tell, relate; impute, assign”). More at tale. Despite the surface similarity, unrelated to Proto-Indo-European *telkʷ- (“to talk”) (due to Grimm's law), which is the source of loquacious.

Etymology 2

From Middle English talk, talke (“conversation; discourse”), from the verb (see above).

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