Definition of talk noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

talk

noun

OPAL S

/tɔːk/

Idioms

jump to other results

speech

[countable] a speech or lecture on a particular subject

I went to several interesting talks at the conference.
talk on something She gave a talk on her visit to China.
talk about something I heard a talk about the history of printing.

Synonyms speechspeechlecture ▪ address ▪ talk ▪ sermonThese are all words for a talk given to an audience.speech a formal talk given to an audience:

Several people made speeches at the wedding.

lecture a talk given to a group of people to tell them about a particular subject, often as part of a university or college course:

a lecture on the Roman army
a course/series of lectures

address a formal speech given to an audience:

a televised presidential address

speech or address?A speech can be given on a public or private occasion; an address is always public: He gave an address at the wedding. talk a fairly informal session in which somebody tells a group of people about a subject:

She gave an interesting talk on her visit to China.

sermon a talk on a moral or religious subject, usually given by a religious leader during a service:

to preach a sermon

Patterns

a long/short speech/lecture/address/talk/sermon
a keynote speech/lecture/address
to write/prepare/give/deliver/hear a(n) speech/lecture/address/talk/sermon
to attend/go to a lecture/talk

conversation

[countable] a conversation or discussion

She looked worried so we had a talk.
talk about something We need to have a serious talk about money matters.
talk with somebody I had to have a heart-to-heart talk with her.
I will have to have a little talk with that young lady (= talk to her about something she has done wrong).
talk with somebody about something I had a long talk with my boss about my career prospects.

Synonyms discussiondiscussionconversation ▪ dialogue ▪ talk ▪ debate ▪ consultation ▪ chat ▪ gossipThese are all words for an occasion when people talk about something.discussion a detailed conversation about something that is considered to be important:

Discussions are still taking place between the two leaders.

conversation a talk, usually a private or informal one, involving two people or a small group; the activity of talking in this way:

a telephone conversation

dialogue conversations in a book, play or film:

The novel has long descriptions and not much dialogue.

A dialogue is also a formal discussion between two groups, especially when they are trying to solve a problem or end a dispute:

The President told waiting reporters there had been a constructive dialogue.

talk a conversation or discussion, often one about a problem or something important for the people involved:

I had a long talk with my boss about my career prospects.

debate a formal discussion of an issue at a public meeting or in a parliament. In a debate two or more speakers express opposing views and then there is often a vote on the issue:

a debate on prison reform

consultation a formal discussion between groups of people before a decision is made about something:

There have been extensive consultations between the two countries.

chat a friendly informal conversation; informal talking. The countable use of chat is especially British English: I just called in for a chat about the kids. gossip a conversation about other people and their private lives:

We had a good gossip about the boss.

Patterns

a discussion/conversation/dialogue/talk/debate/consultation/chat/gossip about something
a discussion/conversation/dialogue/debate/consultation on something
in (close) discussion/conversation/dialogue/debate/consultation with somebody
to have a discussion/conversation/dialogue/talk/debate/consultation/chat/gossip with somebody
to hold a discussion/conversation/debate/consultation

Extra Examples

I enjoyed our talk about the old days.
Every week the sales reps go to their manager's office for a team talk.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

brief
little
short
…

verb + talk

have

talk + noun

show
radio

preposition

talk about
talk with

See full entry

formal discussions

talks

[plural] formal discussions between governments or organizations

peace/trade talks
to hold talks
to engage in/enter into talks
to pull out of talks
talks with somebody/something The delegation arrived for talks with their government.
in talks with somebody/something He is currently in talks with two football clubs.
talks between A and B Talks between management and workers broke down over the issue of holiday pay.
talks on something Leaders will resume talks on the trade deal next month.
talks over something Talks continue over the political future of the province.
A further round of talks will be needed if the dispute is to be resolved.
Union representatives walked out of emergency talks aimed at reaching a pay settlement.

Extra Examples

Talks produced agreement on an end to the occupation.
The peace talks will take place in Cairo.
The talks centred on bilateral trade.
The talks foundered on the issue of compensation.
The two governments held secret talks on the nuclear threat.
The talks remain deadlocked over spending plans.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

lengthy
high-level
top-level
…

… of talks

round

verb + talk

conduct
have
hold
…

talk + verb

be scheduled
take place
begin
…

preposition

during talk
in talk
talk about
…

See full entry

words without actions

[uncountable] (informal) words that are spoken, but without the necessary facts or actions to support them

It's just talk. He'd never carry out his threats.
Don't pay any attention to her—she's all talk.

Extra Examples

For all their talk of equality, the boys ended up not doing any cooking.
The chairman's boasts about future profits was just cheap talk.
What all the fine talk came down to was hard cash.

stories/rumours

[uncountable] stories that suggest a particular thing might be true or might happen in the future

She dismissed the stories of her resignation as newspaper talk.
talk of (doing) something There was talk in Washington of sending in troops.
talk that… There’s talk that he’s a difficult actor to work with.

Extra Examples

All this talk of the boss resigning is nonsense!
There is ridiculous talk of her breaking the world record soon.
There was excited talk of emigrating to America.
You often hear talk of the north-south divide.
There is open talk of a leadership challenge.
There has been much public talk about bilingual education.

topic/way of speaking

[uncountable] (often in compounds) a topic of conversation or a way of speaking

business talk
She said it was just girl talk that a man wouldn't understand.
The book teaches you how to understand Spanish street talk (= slang).
It was tough talk, coming from a man who had begun the year in a hospital bed.

Extra Examples

She likes straight talk and hates hypocrites.
The president's true agenda was hidden in political double talk.
The US authorities have increased the war talk.
the crusade against dirty talk on TV
the pillow talk of lovers
Talk turned to money and tempers began to fray.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

excited
crazy
wild
…

verb + talk

hear

talk + verb

turn to something

preposition

talk about/of

phrases

be all talk
be just talk
for all the talk of something
…

See full entry

Word OriginMiddle English: frequentative verb from the Germanic base of tale or tell.

Idioms

fighting talk

comments or remarks that show that you are ready to fight very hard for something
- What we want from the management is fighting talk.

the talk of something

the person or thing that everyone is talking about in a particular place
- Overnight, she became the talk of the town (= very famous).

See talk in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee talk in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

Check pronunciation: talk

Other results

All matches

Phrasal verbs

Idioms

Nearby words

halfway

adverb

From the Word list

Oxford 5000

Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day