Skip to main content
PlainSpell

talk

UK /tɔːk/verb, noun

talk is spelled T-A-L-K: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 263 times per million words in written English, the 369th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, talk means “To communicate, usually by means of speech” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in talk?

Letters4: T-A-L-K
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing263 times per million words; the 369th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Sounds like
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is talk?

Talk appears 263 times per million words in written English, the 369th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce talk?

  • UK /tɔːk/
  • British [tʰoːk]
  • /tɔk/

Talk has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-talk.wav, En-uk-to_talk.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Grendelkhan-talk.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with talk

Sounds like: torc, torq, torque (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with talk?

4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as talk from its last stressed vowel (/ɔk/, British pronunciation):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of talk

  • talks present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • talking participle, present
  • talked participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does talk mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To communicate, usually by means of speech.

    Let's sit down and talk.

  2. 2

    informalTo discuss; to talk about.

    They sat down to talk business.

  3. 3

    To speak (a certain language).

    We talk French sometimes.

  4. 4

    informalUsed to emphasise the importance, size, complexity etc. of the thing mentioned.

    Are you interested in the job? They're talking big money.

  5. 5

    slangTo confess, especially implicating others.

    Suppose he talks?

  6. 6

    To criticize someone for something of which one is guilty oneself.

    I am not the one to talk.

  7. 7

    To gossip; to create scandal.

    People will talk.

  8. 8

    To manifest outwardly in speech, as opposed to reality or action.

noun

  1. 1

    A conversation or discussion; usually serious, but informal.

    We need to have a talk about your homework.

  2. 2

    A lecture.

    There is a talk on Shakespeare tonight.

  3. 3

    Gossip; rumour.

    There's been talk lately about the two of them.

  4. 4

    A major topic of social discussion.

    She is the talk of the day.

  5. 5

    A customary conversation in which parent(s) explain sexual intercourse to their child.

    Have you had the talk with Jay yet? I found a condom in his room.

  6. 6

    USA customary conversation in which the parent(s) of a black child explain the racism and violence they may face, especially when interacting with police, and strategies to manage it.

  7. 7

    Empty boasting, promises or claims.

    The party leader's speech was all talk.

  8. 8

    Meeting to discuss a particular matter.

    The leaders of the G8 nations are currently in talks over nuclear weapons.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Talk in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchparler, bavarder, s'entretenir (to communicate by speech), discussion (conversation), conférence (lecture), discours (major topic of social discussion)
Germanreden, sprechen (to communicate by speech), Gespräch (conversation), Vortrag (lecture), Unterredung, Verhandlung (meeting, negotiation)
Portuguesefalar, conversar (to communicate by speech), conversa (conversation), discurso (lecture), negociação (meeting, negotiation)
Spanishhablar, conversar, paular, fablar, fabular, chamullar (to communicate by speech)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does talk come from?

From Middle English talken, talkien, from Old English *tealcian (“to talk, chat”), from Proto-West Germanic *talkōn, from Proto-Germanic *talkōną (“to talk, chatter”), frequentative form of Proto-Germanic *talōną (“to count, recount, tell”), from Proto-Indo-European *dol-, *del- (“to aim, calculate, adjust, count”), equivalent to tell + -k.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after talk