to talk
- verb
- /tɔk/
- Informal
- If you don't talk, your families will starve.
- refuse to talk
When you walk in and you go talk to the feds, you're a rat.
- When you walk in and you go talk to the feds, you're a rat.
- They now believe that it was Anne Diaz who talked to the press.
- Last night, we let the liquor talk onward.
Examples
-
When I continued pestering him, he snapped angrily, "One doesn't talk about that," and left the room.
Academic text (1999) -
You promised me that you would never talk about this.
-
You only heard three shots, and you are not to talk to anyone about this.
Fiction book (1991) -
I tracked her down and kept her talking until she told me what happened.
-
I told you specifically not to talk about the Bagman.
-
"I had access to secure things that I couldn't talk about," McCollum later said.
Academic text (2011) -
After hours of questioning, the suspect finally decided to talk about what happened during the robbery.
-
The new policy encourages employees to talk about any unethical behavior they witness in the workplace.
-
Under pressure from the authorities, he agreed to talk about his involvement in the illegal activities.
Synonyms
Report someone's actions to the police or an authority
Say what really happened without hiding facts or lying
To tell people information that was secret
To reveal secret information, often by mistake
To tell someone a secret and trust them not to tell others
To say the truth about something you kept secret
To tell secret information to the police or other officials
To say something that is true even if it is surprising
Say all private things about a person or event
To tell secret or private information to people
To secretly tell the police about someone's illegal actions
To tell a secret
To tell secrets without thinking
Tell a secret by accident before others know
To tell someone a secret that should be kept
Tell a person in charge about someone else's bad actions in a childish way
To talk too much and tell secrets carelessly
To tell someone your private feelings or secrets openly
To tell a secret that should be kept
Tell secret information carelessly to others
To tell authorities secret information about someone to get them in trouble
To tell private or bad things about someone to other people
To tell a secret carelessly or without meaning to
To openly say something people usually keep secret
To tell secrets without thinking
Antonyms
Idioms
- Informal
To speak confidently about doing something without actually doing it
- Offensive
A rude phrase with a hand gesture that tells someone you will not listen
- Informal
To say things without knowing the facts or that are not true
- Informal
To talk longer and more skillfully so the other person cannot answer
- Informal
Speak to someone for a very long time in a way that annoys them
- Informal
To speak to someone for a very long time until they get tired of listening
Phrasal Verbs
Compounds
A television or radio program where famous people speak about topics and answer audience questions
- Jargon
A conversation about work that uses words only people in the same job understand
How Willing
- Informal
- Informal
Surface Forms
Etymology
When talk means 'reveal secrets', it comes from the simple idea 'to tell' — the same root as tell and tale. So if someone 'talks' under pressure they 'tell' or give away private information.