talent

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talent [noun] (NATURAL ABILITY)

(someone who has) a natural ability to be good at something, especially without being taught

US /ˈtæl.ənt/ 
UK /ˈtæl.ənt/ 
Example: 

Her talent for music showed at an early age.

Oxford Essential Dictionary

talent

 noun
a natural ability to do something very well:
She has a talent for drawing.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

talent

talent W3 /ˈtælənt/ BrE AmE noun
[Date: 1400-1500; Origin: talent unit of weight or money in the ancient world (9-21 centuries), from Latin talentum, from Greek talanton; from a story in the Bible in which a man gives talents to his three servants, and two of them use them well]
1. [uncountable and countable] a natural ability to do something well:
He has a lot of talent, and his work is fresh and interesting.
talent for
She showed a talent for acting at an early age.
a persuasive speaker with a natural talent for leadership
His latest book reveals hidden talents.
Sadly, she inherited none of her father’s musical talent.
Your brother is a man of many talents.
There’s a wealth of talent in English football.
talent for
She showed a talent for acting at an early age.
2. [uncountable] a person or people with a natural ability or skill:
Britain’s footballing talent
3. [uncountable] British English informal sexually attractive people
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
have talent Greg has a real talent for drawing.
show talent Zach was the only one who showed any natural talent.
use your talents They have been using their artistic talents to brighten up the school.
develop your talent Education allows people to develop their talents to the full.
waste your talents They felt their son was wasting his talents and his time.
sb’s talents flourish (=develop successfully) The school created an atmosphere in which young talent could flourish.
■ adjectives
great/considerable/exceptional talent He had a great talent for making money.
real talent She has real talent and with a little help she could go far.
natural talent Ronaldo is a player of immense natural talent.
raw talent (=used to describe someone with natural ability who has not had much training) He’s got lots of raw talent but he needs a good coach.
a hidden talent Have a go – you may discover a hidden talent!
musical/artistic/creative etc talent It was at school that Brian’s musical talents were spotted.
■ talent + NOUN
a talent contest/show/competition Don’t assume winning a talent contest is a passport to success.
■ phrases
a wealth of talent (=a large amount of talent) There’s a wealth of musical talent in New York and other large American cities.
a pool of talent (=lots of talented people) Employers can draw on an enormous pool of talent in this area.
• • •
THESAURUS
skill [uncountable and countable] an ability to do something well, especially because you have learned and practised it: He plays the piano with great skill. | communication/language/computer etc skills | The course will help you improve your communication skills.
talent [uncountable and countable] a natural ability to do something well which can be developed with practice: She was a young artist with a lot of talent. | She showed a talent for acting from an early age. | He is a man of many talents.
genius [uncountable] very great ability, which only a few people have: The opera shows Mozart’s genius as a composer. | Picasso was a painter of genius.
gift [countable] a natural ability to do something very well, which you were born with: You can see that he has a gift for the game. | Winterson has great gifts as a writer.
flair [singular, uncountable] skill for doing something, especially something that needs imagination and creativity: The job does require some creative flair. | She has a flair for languages.
expertise [uncountable] specialized knowledge of a technical subject, which you get from experience of doing that type of work: The technical expertise for building the dam is being provided by a US company.
a/the knack /næk/ [singular] informal a special skill for doing a particular thing, especially a simple everyday thing: Breadmaking is easy once you get the knack. | He has a knack for making people feel relaxed.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

talent

tal·ent [talent talents]   [ˈtælənt]    [ˈtælənt]  noun
1. countable, uncountable a natural ability to do sth well
to have great artistic talent
a man of many talents
~ (for sth/for doing sth) She showed considerable talent for getting what she wanted.

• a talent competition/contest/show (= in which people perform, to show how well they can sing, dance, etc.)

2. uncountable, countable people or a person with a natural ability to do sth well
There is a wealth of young talent in British theatre.

• He is a great talent.

3. uncountable (BrE, slang) people who are sexually attractive
He likes to spend his time chatting up the local talent.  
Word Origin:
Old English talente, talentan (as a unit of weight), from Latin talenta, plural of talentum ‘weight, sum of money’, from Greek talanton. The current sense is a figurative use based on the parable of the talents in the Bible (Matt. 25:14–30).  
Example Bank:
Hard work is important, but it is no substitute for raw talent.
He has been putting his artistic talents to good use.
He is a violinist of exceptional talent.
Her talents lay in organization.
His parents accused him of wasting his talents and abilities.
Hollywood directors have a marvellous pool of acting talent to draw from.
It takes real talent to write a great pop song.
She has a keen eye for spotting talent.
The banquet gave the chef a chance to flaunt his talents.
The boy has undoubted talent.
The company is always looking out for new talent.
The festival attracts talent from all over the world.
The theatre visits schools to tap young talent.
There is a shortage of new comedy talent coming through.
There is a wealth of talent out there in our schools.
United have unearthed a real talent in this young defender.
We are losing our top talent to other countries who pay more.
Where does her musical talent come from?
You have a natural talent for storytelling.
an effort to develop his creative talents to the full
kids with musical talent
one of the few teams that relies on home-grown talent
As a boy, Elvis was entered for a talent contest at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair.
• He's a man of many talents.

• She has great artistic talent.

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

talent / ˈtæl. ə nt / noun [ C or U ] (NATURAL ABILITY)

B1 (someone who has) a natural ability to be good at something, especially without being taught:

Her talent for music showed at an early age.

His artistic talents were wasted in his boring job.

 

talentless / -ləs / adjective
 

talent / ˈtæl. ə nt / noun [ U ] UK slang mainly humorous (ATTRACTIVE PEOPLE)

people who are sexually attractive:

There was plenty of talent at the party last night.

Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

talent

[tæ̱lənt]
 talents
 N-VAR: oft N for n

 Talent is the natural ability to do something well.
 → See also talent show
  She is proud that both her children have a talent for music...
  The player was given hardly any opportunities to show off his talents...
  He's got lots of talent.

 

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

talent

tal·ent /ˈtælənt/ noun, pl -ents
1 : a special ability that allows someone to do something well

[noncount]

• a singer with an enormous amount of talent
• I have no musical talent.
• Her artistic/creative talent has been obvious ever since she was a child.
• athletic talent
• a person of talent = a person who has talent
• They sang a duet in the talent show/contest.

[count]

• She has a job that makes the most of her talents.
• His experience, skills, and talents make him perfectly suited for the job.
• He has many talents. = He's a man of many talents.
• He seems to have a talent for getting into trouble. [=he often gets into trouble]
2 : a person or group of people with a special ability to do something well : a talented person or group

[count]

• There are many good players on the team, but she's a special talent.

[noncount]

• The company has hired some expensive legal talent for the trial.
• The team has recruited some of the best talent around.
• The company is doing a talent search to find the right person for the job.
3 [noncount] Brit slang : people who are sexually attractive
• checking out the local talent