| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| talk |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |  tôk |
| VERB: | Inflected forms: talked, talk·ing, talks
| | TRANSITIVE VERB: | 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. | | INTRANSITIVE VERB: | 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. | | NOUN: | 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. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English talken. See del-2 in Appendix I.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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