talk

verb

\ ˈtȯk

talked; talking; talks

Definition of talk

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : to express or exchange ideas by means of spoken words

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 speech : speak

3a : to speak idly : prate

b : gossip

c : to reveal secret or confidential information

4 : to give a talk : lecture

transitive

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

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

talk

noun

Definition of talk (Entry 2 of 2)

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

5a : mention, report

b : rumor, gossip

6 : the topic of interested comment, conversation, or gossip it's the talk of the town

7a : 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

Other Words from talk Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about talk

Keep scrolling for more

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

There were conventions set up that allowed them to talk to three, four guests a night, bring on jugglers, just kill as much time as possible. — Don Steinberg, WSJ, "Conan O’Brien Doesn’t Want to Be Killing Time," 21 Jan. 2019 Any of these can indicate a more severe neurological issue, so don’t hesitate to talk to your doctor. — Korin Miller, SELF, "8 Vomiting Causes to Consider Next Time You’re Really Sick," 18 Jan. 2019 Asa stopped by Teen Vogue to talk about subverting that trope, filming the show's several wanking scenes, getting to play Gillian Anderson's son, and more. — Gabe Bergado, Teen Vogue, "Asa Butterfield on Playing “Sex Wizard” Otis on “Sex Education” and What He Hopes Young People Learn From the Hilariously Heartwarming Netflix Series," 14 Jan. 2019 The design work Jenny is happiest to talk about doesn't have any big celebrities or brand names attached to it, though. — Maggie Burch, House Beautiful, ""How A 'Property Brothers' Episode Changed My Life"," 12 Jan. 2019 As the series gears up for its season 2 premiere on Sunday night, Ars sat down with writer/producer and science advisor Andre Bormanis to talk about some of the science behind our favorite episodes in the first season. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "The Orville blends science fiction and science fact into a winning mix," 29 Dec. 2018 Javier Zarracina/Vox My job at Vox is to talk to interesting people. — Sean Illing, Vox, "Here are the 5 most interesting conversations I had in 2018," 26 Dec. 2018 For us, Fortnite is an excuse to talk on the phone. — Bijan Stephen, The Verge, "Fortnite was 2018’s most important social network," 21 Dec. 2018 Obviously, that won’t apply to today’s or even tomorrow's uses cases, but with Optane storage continuing to move down the train tracks, the day is approaching when even a consumer CPU may need to talk to what seems like an insane amount of memory. — Gordon Mah Ung, PCWorld, "Surprise! Intel reveals 10nm Sunny Cove CPU cores that go deeper, wider, and faster," 12 Dec. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Well, hey, maybe Lil Timmy Tim is making a triumphant return to the rap game and this is totally normal business talk. — Cady Drell, Marie Claire, "This Week in Timothée Chalamet, February 1 Edition," 1 Feb. 2019 Those talks seem to have broken down, prompting the Beefeaters to stage a picket line again on January 7, and now on January 22. — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "Beefeaters Continue to Strike at the Tower of London," 22 Jan. 2019 Hilary Duff just revealed that Disney is currently in talks about a possible Lizzie McGuire revival. — Tamara Fuentes, Seventeen, "Hilary Duff Reveals That A "Lizzie McGuire" Reboot Might Actually Happen!," 10 Dec. 2018 There aren’t any details yet on the device itself, but Bloomberg previously reported that the two companies were in talks to bring a 5G version of the upcoming Galaxy S10 to the US. — Sam Byford, The Verge, "A 5G Samsung phone will come to Verizon by June," 3 Dec. 2018 The millennial-focused media company is in talks to sell to Bustle Digital Group, another publisher that targets millennial readers. — Recode Staff, Recode, "Recode Daily: ‘I don’t think Amazon understands how close they are to blowing themselves up’," 29 Nov. 2018 Royals sources told The Daily Express that palace officials are reportedly in talks to make Markle's wedding dress the focal point of an exhibition that would be open to the public at Windsor Castle, the site of Markle and Prince Harry's nuptials. — Andrea Park, Glamour, "Meghan Markle's Actual Wedding Dress May Go on Display Later This Year," 20 Aug. 2018 On Thursday morning, Kate Hudson was the guest host for Ellen DeGeneres' namesake day-time talk-variety show, and interviewed none other than her hilarious mother, Goldie Hawn. — Nicole Saunders, Harper's BAZAAR, "Goldie Hawn Explains How She Got 'Right in There’ When Daughter Kate Hudson Gave Birth to Her Daughter," 17 Jan. 2019 In recent months, the world’s biggest social network has held talks with cable channels like HBO, Showtime and Starz about selling their TV services on Facebook. — Recode Staff, Recode, "Recode Daily: Facebook wants you to buy — and watch — HBO on Facebook," 14 Dec. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'talk.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.