Talking

talk  (tôk)

v. talked, talk·ing, talks

v.tr.

1. To articulate (words): The baby is talking sentences now.

2. To give expression to in words: talk treason.

3. To speak of or discuss (something): talk music; talk business;

4. To speak or know how to speak in (an idiom or language): talked French with the flight crew.

5. To gain, influence, or bring into a specified state by talking: talked me into coming; talked their way out of trouble.

6. To spend (a period of time) by or as if by talking: talked the evening away.

v.intr.

1. To converse by means of spoken language: We talked for hours. See Synonyms at speak.

2. To articulate words: The baby can talk.

3. To imitate the sounds of human speech: The parrot talks.

4. To express one's thoughts or emotions by means of spoken language: talked about the pros and cons of the issue.

5. To convey one's thoughts in a way other than by spoken words: talk with one's hands.

6. To express one's thoughts in writing: Voltaire talks about London in this book.

7. To parley or negotiate with someone: Let's talk before continuing to fight.

8. To spread rumors; gossip: If you do that, people will talk.

9. To allude to something: Are you talking about last week?

10. To consult or confer with someone: I talked with the doctor.

11. To reveal information concerning oneself or others, especially under pressure: Has the prisoner talked?

12. Informal To be efficacious: Money talks.

n.

1. An exchange of ideas or opinions; a conversation.

2. A speech or lecture.

3. Hearsay, rumor, or speculation: There is talk of bankruptcy.

4. A subject of conversation: a musical that is the talk of the town.

5. A conference or negotiation. Often used in the plural: peace talks.

6. Jargon; slang: prison talk.

7. Empty speech or unnecessary discussion: much talk and no action.

8. A particular manner of speech: baby talk; honeyed talk.

9. Something, such as the sounds of animals, felt to resemble human talk: whale talk.

Phrasal Verbs:

talk around

1. To persuade: I talked them around to my point of view.

2. To speak indirectly about: talked around the subject but never got to the point.

talk at

To address orally with no regard for or interest in a reaction or response.

talk back

1. To make an impertinent or insolent reply.

2. To make a belligerent response: heavy guns talking back.

talk down

1. To depreciate: talked down the importance of the move.

2. To speak with insulting condescension: talked down to her subordinates.

3. To silence (a person), especially by speaking in a loud and domineering manner.

4. To direct and control (the flight of an aircraft during an approach for landing) by radioed instructions either from the ground or a nearby aircraft.

talk out

1. To discuss (a matter) exhaustively: I talked out the problem with a therapist.

2. To resolve or settle by discussion.

3. Chiefly British To block (proposed legislation) by filibustering.

talk over

1. To consider thoroughly in conversation; discuss: talked the matter over.

2. To win (someone) over by persuasion: talked them over to our side.

talk up

1. To speak in favor of; promote: talked the candidate up; talked up the new product.

2. To speak up in a frank, often insolent manner.

Idioms:

talk big Informal

To brag.

talk sense

To speak rationally and coherently.

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[Middle English talken; see del-² in Indo-European roots.]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

talking - an exchange of ideas via conversation; "let's have more work and less talk around here" talk conversation - the use of speech for informal exchange of views or ideas or information etc. pious platitude, cant - insincere talk about religion or morals dialog, dialogue, duologue - a conversation between two persons heart-to-heart - an intimate talk in private; "he took me aside for a little heart-to-heart" shmooze - (Yiddish) a warm heart-to-heart talk shop talk - talk about your business that only others in the same business can understand idle words, jazz, malarkey, malarky, nothingness, wind - empty rhetoric or insincere or exaggerated talk; "that's a lot of wind"; "don't give me any of that jazz" chatter, yack, yak, yakety-yak, cackle - noisy talk