释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024talk /tɔk/USA pronunciation v. - to communicate information by or as if by speaking:[no object]Can parrots really talk? Sometimes we just sit and talk.
- to discuss or chat about (a topic): [~ + about + object]We talked about the movies.[~ + object]to talk politics.
- to consult or confer:[no object* ~ + with/to]Talk with your adviser.
- to deliver a speech or lecture:[no object* (~ + on/about + object))]The professor talked on modern physics.
- to give away secret information:[no object]The spy talked during interrogation.
- to express in words:[~ + object]Now you're talking sense.
- to use (a language) in speaking or conversing:[~ + object]They talk French together.
- to drive or influence by talk:[~ + object]to talk a person to sleep.
- talk around, [~ + around + object] to avoid discussion of:They talked around the problem and never really addressed it.
- Idioms talk back, [no object* (~ + to + object])] to reply in a disrespectful manner:to talk back (to one's parents).
- talk down to, [~ + down + to + object] to speak in a superior tone:A good teacher won't talk down to his or her students.
- talk out, to try to clarify or resolve by discussion: [~ + out + object]to talk out the problem.[~ + object + out]Don't just walk out; let's talk it out.
- talk (someone) out of (something), [~ + object + out + of + object] to convince (someone) not to do (something):I talked him out of quitting just yet.
- talk over, to consider;
discuss: [~ + object + over]Let's talk it over before getting angry.[~ + over + object]Let's talk over the problem with your teacher. - talk up:
- to help the progress of (someone or something) by means of praise;
promote: [~ + up + object]He talked up the chances of his team.[~ + object + up]I talked you up to the woman who does the hiring. - [no object] to speak openly or distinctly.
n. - the act of talking;
speech or conversation:[countable]We had a short talk before class. - an often informal speech or lecture:[countable]a little talk on her research.
- a conference or session:[countable]peace talks.
- rumor;
gossip:[uncountable]He's not really going to quit; that's just talk. - empty speech;
false promises:[uncountable]She's all talk. - a way of talking:[uncountable]baby talk.
talk•er, n. [countable] WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024talk (tôk),USA pronunciation v.i. - to communicate or exchange ideas, information, etc., by speaking:to talk about poetry.
- to consult or confer:Talk with your adviser.
- to spread a rumor or tell a confidence;
gossip. - to chatter or prate.
- to employ speech;
perform the act of speaking:to talk very softly; to talk into a microphone. - to deliver a speech, lecture, etc.:The professor talked on the uses of comedy in the tragedies of Shakespeare.
- to give or reveal confidential or incriminating information:After a long interrogation, the spy finally talked.
- to communicate ideas by means other than speech, as by writing, signs, or signals.
- Computingto transmit data, as between computers or between a computer and a terminal.
- to make sounds imitative or suggestive of speech.
v.t. - to express in words;
utter:to talk sense. - to use (a specified language or idiom) in speaking or conversing:They talk French together for practice.
- to discuss:to talk politics.
- Informal Terms(used only in progressive tenses) to focus on;
signify or mean; talk about:This isn't a question of a few hundred dollars—we're talking serious money. - to bring, put, drive, influence, etc., by talk:to talk a person to sleep; to talk a person into doing something.
- talk around, to bring (someone) over to one's way of thinking;
persuade:She sounded adamant over the phone, but I may still be able to talk her around. - talk at:
- to talk to in a manner that indicates that a response is not expected or wanted.
- to direct remarks meant for one person to another person present;
speak indirectly to.
- talk away, to spend or consume (time) in talking:We talked away the tedious hours in the hospital.
- talk back, to reply to a command, request, etc., in a rude or disrespectful manner:Her father never allowed them to talk back.
- Informal Terms talk big, to speak boastingly;
brag:He always talked big, but never amounted to anything. - Aeronautics talk down:
- to overwhelm by force of argument or by loud and persistent talking;
subdue by talking. - to speak disparagingly of;
belittle. - Also, talk in. to give instructions to by radio for a ground-controlled landing, esp. to a pilot who is unable to make a conventional landing because of snow, fog, etc.
- talk down to, to speak condescendingly to;
patronize:Children dislike adults who talk down to them. - talk of, to debate as a possibility;
discuss:The two companies have been talking of a merger. - talk out:
- to talk until conversation is exhausted.
- to attempt to reach a settlement or understanding by discussion:We arrived at a compromise by talking out the problem.
- Government[Brit. Politics.]to thwart the passage of (a bill, motion, etc.) by prolonging discussion until the session of Parliament adjourns. Cf. filibuster (def. 5).
- talk over:
- to weigh in conversation;
consider; discuss. - to cause (someone) to change an opinion;
convince by talking:He became an expert at talking people over to his views.
- talk someone's head or ear off, to bore or weary someone by excessive talk;
talk incessantly:All I wanted was a chance to read my book, but my seatmate talked my ear off. - talk to death:
- to impede or prevent the passage of (a bill) through filibustering.
- to talk to incessantly or at great length.
- talk up:
- to promote interest in;
discuss enthusiastically. - to speak without hesitation;
speak distinctly and openly:If you don't talk up now, you may not get another chance.
n. - the act of talking;
speech; conversation, esp. of a familiar or informal kind. - an informal speech or lecture.
- a conference or negotiating session:peace talks.
- report or rumor;
gossip:There is a lot of talk going around about her. - a subject or occasion of talking, esp. of gossip:Your wild escapades are the talk of the neighborhood.
- mere empty speech:That's just a lot of talk.
- a way of talking:a halting, lisping talk.
- language, dialect, or lingo.
- signs or sounds imitative or suggestive of speech, as the noise made by loose parts in a mechanism.
- 1175–1225; Middle English talk(i)en to converse, speak, derivative (with -k suffix) of tale speech, discourse, tale; cognate with Frisian (English dialect, dialectal) talken
talk′a•ble, adj. talk′a•bil′i•ty, n. talk′er, n. - 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged See speak.
- 4, 33.See corresponding entry in Unabridged prattle.
- 28.See corresponding entry in Unabridged discourse.
- 30.See corresponding entry in Unabridged colloquy, dialogue, parley, confabulation.
talk, + v.t. - Informal Terms(used only in progressive tenses) to focus on;
signify or mean; talk about:This isn't a question of a few hundred dollars—we're talking serious money.
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