talk

SayTAWK/tɔk//tɔːk/

Verbtalks, talking, talked

Noun pluraltalks

Often confused with speak

18 meanings of talk

Practice

1
discussverbtransitive
To speak with others in order to communicate, exchanging ideas or information, often about a particular subject.
She talked to her neighbor for an hour about the new school.
We can talk about the budget once everyone arrives.
UsageYou talk to or with someone about something. Casual speech can drop about: talk business.
Similarspeak, chat
2
discussionnouncountable or uncountable
A conversation or exchange of views, typically on a serious matter though relaxed in tone.
The couple had a quiet talk about their future.
A heart-to-heart talk cleared up the misunderstanding.
UsageUsually have a talk. We need to have a talk signals that something serious is coming.
Similarconversation, chat, discussion
Note
The noun grew from the verb in Middle English, where talk already meant conversation or discourse.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
The noun talk developed from the verb in Middle English and already meant conversation or discourse. en.wiktionary.org
3
formal meetingnouncountable or uncountable
A formal meeting held to discuss a particular matter.
Trade talks resumed after a long break.
Both leaders agreed to talks about border security.
UsageCountries are in talks or hold talks: trade talks, peace talks. Common in news reports.
Similarmeeting, discussion, conference, debate
Note
The plural suggests an ongoing series of meetings between sides rather than one conversation.
4
lecturenouncountable or uncountable
A spoken presentation or lecture delivered to an audience, often on a particular subject.
The professor's talk on Roman history lasted an hour.
He prepared a short talk for the conference.
UsageYou give a talk on or about a subject.
Similarlecture, speech, presentation, address
5
real influenceverbcolloquialtransitive
Of a drink, drug, feeling, or interest: to be the real influence behind what someone says, as in that's the wine talking.
When he's been drinking, the whiskey starts to talk, so don't take his promises too seriously.
He swears he'll quit tomorrow, but I suspect that's the exhaustion talking, not a real decision.
Note
Saying that's the wine talking excuses or discounts a remark by blaming its true source.

Less common meanings

6
hot topicnouncountable or uncountable
A subject that many people are discussing, especially at a particular time or place.
The unexpected merger was the talk of the financial district for months.
Within days the comet had become the talk of every village along the coast.
UsageUsually the talk of a place or time: the talk of the town.
7
verbcolloquialtransitive
Used informally to stress the size, cost, or complexity of the thing being mentioned.
The barn needs new beams, a roof and wiring, so you're talking months of work.
If the city wants a new subway line, we're talking at least ten years of work and several billion dollars.
UsageUsually be talking followed by a noun phrase: we're talking months of work. We're not talking rocket science means the task is easy.
8
noununcountable
Boasting, promises, or claims that have no real substance behind them.
The campaign was full of talk but offered no concrete proposals.
Investors grew tired of talk and demanded measurable results.
UsageOften all talk: he's all talk. With a, a talk is a conversation or lecture instead.
Similarrhetoric, bluster, boasting
Oppositeaction
9
verbintransitive
To produce words with the voice and communicate in speech, or to be capable of doing so.
After the surgery on his jaw, he couldn't talk for almost a month.
She talked so quietly that nobody in the back row could hear her.
UsageNo object here: he couldn't talk. You say words and tell someone things.
Similarspeak
10
spread gossipverbintransitive
To spread gossip or stir up scandal.
If we're seen together, everyone will talk.
The whole village talked when she left her husband.
UsageOften in people will talk or everyone will talk.
Similargossip
11
rumorsnoununcountable
Rumor or gossip passed among people.
The talk around town was that the factory would close.
Idle talk about their breakup spread quickly.
UsageOften there's talk of something or the talk is that...
Similargossip, rumor, hearsay
12
facts of lifenouncountable or uncountable
The conversation that parents traditionally have with a child to explain sexual intercourse.
She decided her daughter was old enough for the talk.
Schools sometimes step in when parents keep putting off the talk.
UsageUsed with the: parents have the talk with a child.
Note
The talk is a discreet shorthand for a parent's explanation of sex, without naming the subject. In US usage, the same phrase also names the conversation about racism and police, so context tells the listener which conversation is meant.
13
confessverbslangintransitive
To confess or give information to authorities, especially in a way that implicates others.
After days of questioning, the suspect began to talk.
They feared their accomplice would talk to investigators.
UsageOften make someone talk: the investigators tried to make him talk.
Similarconfess, squeal, crack, sing
Note
Slang in which keeping silent is the expected loyalty and speaking is betrayal.
14
use a languageverbcolloquialtransitive
To speak a given language.
At home my grandparents talk Tagalog, but they switch to English when my friends visit.
He talks Mandarin with his clients.
UsageSpeak is the usual verb for languages: speak Mandarin.
Similarspeak
15
nounUScountable or uncountable
The customary conversation in which Black parents explain to their child the racism and violence they may face, especially from police, and how to handle it.
Many Black parents give the talk early, teaching children how to stay calm if police stop them.
When I started driving, Dad gave me the talk about facing police as a young Black man.
UsageUsed with the: parents have the talk with a child.
Note
Because the phrase is shared with the sex-education conversation, writers often clarify which one they mean. Stuart Scott, in Every Day I Fight (2015), adds "No, not the one about the birds and bees" before explaining that his was about the police. Usually only context tells the two apart.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Stuart Scott's Every Day I Fight was published in 2015. penguinrandomhouse.com
Scott writes 'No, not the one about the birds and bees' before explaining that his talk concerned the police. en.wiktionary.org
16
words not deedsverbtransitive
To express something only in speech, without it being matched by reality or action.
Politicians often talk reform while doing little to enact it.
The new manager talked a good fight about cutting waste, yet the budget grew every year he was in charge.
UsageTakes the claimed thing as object, often followed by but: talks reform but does little. Also talk a good fight.
Similarprofess, preach
Note
Here speech is set against practice: someone talks a creed or a virtue while doing otherwise. S. J. Harris, writing in Gay Community News in 1979, says Jerry Falwell talks "Christianity" but practices hatred. The noun counterpart is empty boasting, the kind dismissed as all talk.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
S. J. Harris wrote the cited passage in Gay Community News in 1979. en.wiktionary.org
Harris says Jerry Falwell talks "Christianity" but practices hatred. en.wiktionary.org
17
hypocriteverbintransitive
To criticize someone for a fault that one is equally guilty of.
She told me to be punctual? She can talk, she's always late.
Look who's talking about messy desks.
UsageLives in set phrases: look who's talking, you should talk, she can talk.
18
verbtransitive
To convince someone by speaking with them, either to do something or to refrain from doing it.
It took the salesman less than ten minutes to talk us into the more expensive model.
Her lawyer talked her out of making a statement to the press.
UsageTalk someone into doing something, or out of doing it.
Similarpersuade, coax, cajole

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of talk apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1, 5, 7, 9–10, 13–14, 16–18

"Talk" comes from Middle English talken, from Old English *tealcian ("to talk, chat"), a frequentative form built on a Germanic root meaning "to count, recount, tell". It is thus related to "tell" and "tale", and has cognates in Scandinavian words like Danish tale and Swedish tala. Despite the resemblance, it is not related to the root behind "loquacious".

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 6 facts

Talk derives from Middle English talken and reconstructed Old English *tealcian, meaning 'to talk, chat'. en.wiktionary.org
Its Germanic ancestor was a frequentative formation. en.wiktionary.org
The underlying Germanic verb meant to count, recount or tell. en.wiktionary.org
Talk is etymologically related to tell and tale. en.wiktionary.org
Danish tale and Swedish tala share its Germanic ancestry. en.wiktionary.org
Talk is unrelated to the root underlying loquacious. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 2–4, 6, 8, 11–12, 15

This noun was formed from the verb and goes back to Middle English talk or talke ("conversation, discourse").

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

The noun talk was formed from the verb. en.wiktionary.org
The noun derives from Middle English talk or talke, meaning conversation or discourse. en.wiktionary.org