talk

noun  

CONVERSATION
1. countable ~ (with sb) (about sth) a conversation or discussion
• I had a long talk with my boss about my career prospects.
• We need to have a serious talk about money matters.
• I had to have a heart-to-heart talk with her.

• She looked worried so we had a talk.  

FORMAL DISCUSSIONS

2. talks plural formal discussions between governments or organizations
• arms/pay/peace, etc. talks
• to hold talks
• ~ (between A and B) (on/over sth) Talks between management and workers broke down over the issue of holiday pay.
• High-level talks on arms limitation will reopen next month.
• 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.  

SPEECH

3. countable ~ (on sth) a speech or lecture on a particular subject

• She gave a talk on her visit to China.  

WORDS WITHOUT ACTIONS

4. 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.  

STORIES/RUMOURS

5. uncountable ~ (of sth/of doing sth) | ~ (that…) stories that suggest a particular thing might happen in the future
• There was talk in Washington of sending in troops.
• She dismissed the stories of her resignation as newspaper talk.

• There's talk that he's a difficult actor to work with.  

TOPIC/WAY OF SPEAKING

6. 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.
see also  small talk, sweet talk, trash talk
more at fighting talk at  fight  _v.  
Word Origin:
Middle English: frequentative verb from the Germanic base of tale  or tell.  
Synonyms:
discussion
conversation • dialogue • talk • debate • consultation • chat • gossip
These are all words for an occasion when people talk about sth.
discussion • a detailed conversation about sth 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 sth 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 sth: ▪ 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.
a discussion/conversation/dialogue/talk/debate/consultation/chat/gossip about sth
a discussion/conversation/dialogue/debate/consultation on sth
in (close) discussion/conversation/dialogue/debate/consultation with sb
to have a discussion/conversation/dialogue/talk/debate/consultation/chat/gossip with sb
to hold a discussion/conversation/debate/consultation 
Synonyms:
speech
lecture • address • talk • sermon
These 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 sb 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
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 
Example Bank:
• A further round of talks is expected in March.
• All this talk of the boss resigning is nonsense!
• Did you go to the talk on Peru?
• Don't you get enough shop talk at work?
• For all the talk of bringing their children up the same, the boys ended up never doing any of the cooking.
• For all their talk of equality, the boys ended up not doing any cooking.
• He is currently in talks with two football clubs.
• He was never very good at making small talk with her parents.
• He's all talk. He's too scared to do anything.
• I enjoyed our talk about the old days.
• I need to have a heart-to-heart talk with her.
• I never used baby talk to my little girl.
• I will have to have a little talk with that young lady.
• Let me end my talk with a prediction.
• She gave a very entertaining talk entitled ‘My life and hard times’.
• She gave an illustrated talk on Roman architecture.
• She likes straight talk and hates hypocrites.
• Talk turned to money and tempers began to fray.
• Talks are being held over the political future of the province.
• Talks produced agreement on an end to the occupation.
• Talks were scheduled for Rome the following month.
• The US authorities have increased the war talk.
• The agreement was concluded during talks in Beijing.
• The chairman's boasts about future profits was just cheap talk.
• The delegation arrived for talks with their government.
• The peace talks will take place in Cairo.
• The president's true agenda was hidden in political double talk.
• The talks centred on bilateral trade.
• The talks foundered on the issue of compensation.
• The talks remain deadlocked over spending plans.
• The two governments held secret talks on the nuclear threat.
• The union has broken off talks with the management.
• There has been much public talk about bilingual education.
• There is open talk of a leadership challenge.
• There is ridiculous talk of her breaking the world record soon.
• There was excited talk of emigrating to America.
• We can have some girl talk until Joe gets here.
• What all the fine talk came down to was hard cash.
• You often hear talk of the north-south divide.
• the crusade against dirty talk on TV
• the failure of talks between the two communities
• the latest round of talks aimed at ending the civil war
• the pillow talk of lovers
• Every week the sales reps go to their manager's office for a team talk.
• I found the sales talk very persuasive.
• I had a long talk with my boss about my career prospects.

• She gave an interesting talk on her visit to China.