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Glite Dictionary
to talk over

to talk over

66 3.2
Discuss something carefully with someone before deciding
  • phrasal verb
  • /tɔk ˈoʊvər/
translation icon : hablar sobre
  • Let's sit down and talk over the details of the project before we proceed.

I went, OK, so I talked it over with my wife.

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Examples

  • I have so many things to talk over with Paul.

    The Divorcee (1930)

  • Why don't we meet and talk this over?

    Julie Darling (1983)

  • I went, OK, so I talked it over with my wife.

    Film Courage

  • - And I wish that we could... we could talk it all over again.

    What Happens Later (2023)

  • What say we talk this over?

    A Perfect World (1993)

  • John and I then went out to a restaurant to talk over the events of the day.

    Academic text (1992)

  • I urgently felt the need to talk this over with someone as soon as possible.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • There's something I'd like to talk over with you before I mention it to the others.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Then Molly Bunderan sat down with her husband to talk over cups of coffee.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • We'll go someplace private where we can talk this over calmly, like two civilized human beings.

    Fiction book (1995)

Synonyms

to discuss
vsto talk over
∞ 1.6

To talk with other people about something, often in detail

is focused on thorough pre-decision discussion rather than general detail talk
to confer
vsto talk over
45 4.9

To talk with others to make a decision

focuses on careful full discussion before deciding
to confer with
vsto talk over
25 4.5

Talk about something with someone to share ideas or make a decision

emphasizes thorough pre-decision discussion rather than simple talk
to hash out
vsto talk over
  • Informal
20 4.6

Talk about details carefully to reach an agreement

is more general careful discussion before making a decision
to talk turkey
vsto talk over
  • Informal
6 7.0

Discuss important matters directly to reach an agreement

is more careful and thorough rather than blunt and direct
to confabulate
vsto talk over
8.8

To talk together to make a decision

is the common neutral phrase for careful decision discussion
to discussing
vsto talk over
1.8

Talking with someone to share ideas and opinions

is used as the general action, not specifically before deciding
to rake over
vsto talk over
  • Informal
7.1

Carefully examine and discuss a topic, often when it is difficult or unpleasant

focuses on careful decision discussion rather than digging up unpleasant details

How Thorough

to deliberate
43 4.4
to talk over
66 3.2
to discuss
∞ 1.6
to bring up
788 2.6
to mention
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

talk over infinitive
talked over past
talked over past participle
talking over present participle
talks over third person singular

Morphology

talk + over

The meaning 'to discuss something carefully' is directly derivable from 'talk' (to speak) combined with the particle 'over' which here signals discussing or going over a topic thoroughly. This is a regular phrasal-verb composition (verb + particle) found cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would very likely infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

The phrasal verb talk over may come from a simple scene: people standing over a map or paper and talking through each point, going from one detail to the next. That's why talk over means 'to discuss something carefully before making a decision'.