Talk at means: To speak with without truly listening to their response or interacting meaningfully.. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
talk at
To speak with (someone) without truly listening to their response or interacting meaningfully.
Seen in the wild
10 citations · last seen May 2026
Seen in the wild
BlueskyMay 2026
i want to give a talk at the next @atproto.nyc event and i have a good idea of what the topic would be but public speaking is scary............ but i'm also really passionate about the topic and i want to tell people…
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BlueskyMay 2026
I love when clients just want to talk at me so they can feel heard by someone. I will absolutely listen and ask some good questions so that you know I'm listening and trying to understand your life and story.
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BlueskyMay 2026
At #BioMonnWeek2026, stop by our booth to chat about #biodiversity, #AI & #citizenscience ! 📣And don’t miss our talk at 4:30–5:30 PM in Room Sully 3, where our botanist Vanessa Hequet will take you behind the scenes…
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BlueskyMay 2026
"You build the engine, someone else crashes the car, and the headline is: cars are dangerous." Luís Freitas on 2022, FTX, and why the protocols were never the problem. From his talk at Braga Blockchain 🎥 link buff.l…
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BlueskyMay 2026
I gave a lightning talk at #BugBash 2026, sharing the stage with people whose work shaped how I think about distributed systems. Still processing that. Wrote up why the correctness decade has started, and why you tru…
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Definitions
US
#2·Apr 27, 2026US
(slang, originally, AAVE) To speak with; to have a conversation with.
Cluster: general
Heard in the wild
“"You build the engine, someone else crashes the car, and the headline is: cars are dangerous." Luís Freitas on 2022, FTX, and why the protocols were never the problem. From his talk at Braga Blockchain 🎥 link buff.ly/yaCJxxB #BragaBlockchain #Web3 #Crypto #Ethereum”
— Bluesky· May 2026“People always talk at me like I’m in favor of the police stopping the first attack and I’m like how are the police supposed to know they’re supposed to be there? They can’t stop the first attack. The point of police is to go out and do arrests.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Thats exclusion. Why does msnow, thee stupidest motherfuckers- overreach, talk at viewers, and deny that, other than to deny that, for 3xclusion, with overeach?”
— Bluesky· May 2026“So she can talk at a roundtable not under oath? The Republicans said they were done with testimony under oath. That was only for Hillary and Bill.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Just in time for #Mother'sDay, hear more about why women face a higher risk of #Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Jessica Caldwell will give a live talk at @BeingPatient on Friday, May 8. beingpatient.com/event/unders...”
— Bluesky· May 2026
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Show 1 more dictionary-style sense (imported)
US
#1·Apr 27, 2026US
To speak with (someone) without truly listening to their response or interacting meaningfully.
See it in action
“I love when clients just want to talk at me so they can feel heard by someone. I will absolutely listen and ask some good questions so that you know I'm listening and trying to understand your life and story.”
For parents
Talk at means: To speak with without truly listening to their response or interacting meaningfully.. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
For ESL learners
talk at means: To speak with without truly listening to their response or interacting meaningfully.. Register: neutral, standard English. A common learner mistake is using the word in a register it does not fit, or assuming a single global meaning; native speakers immediately notice when slang appears in formal contexts, so always check the surrounding register before producing it yourself.
Heard in the wild
“i want to give a talk at the next @atproto.nyc event and i have a good idea of what the topic would be but public speaking is scary............ but i'm also really passionate about the topic and i want to tell people about it so maybe that could overpower the fear”
— Bluesky· May 2026“I love when clients just want to talk at me so they can feel heard by someone. I will absolutely listen and ask some good questions so that you know I'm listening and trying to understand your life and story.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“At #BioMonnWeek2026, stop by our booth to chat about #biodiversity, #AI & #citizenscience ! 📣And don’t miss our talk at 4:30–5:30 PM in Room Sully 3, where our botanist Vanessa Hequet will take you behind the scenes of how we’re using drones to scale #biodiversitymonitoring”
— Bluesky· May 2026“I gave a lightning talk at #BugBash 2026, sharing the stage with people whose work shaped how I think about distributed systems. Still processing that. Wrote up why the correctness decade has started, and why you trust the simulator, not Claude 👀 pierrezemb.fr/posts/bugbas...”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Imagine if that was books or watching tele or fidgeting or anything else. Oh yeah, we asked the reading disorder clinic and they said people who read and talk at the same time are probably sus and neglecting you, get them help. Ooh. Those absolute fuckers.”
— Bluesky· May 2026
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For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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🎤About Black culture & AAVE slang
Slang from Black American Vernacular English (AAVE), hip-hop, drag and ballroom culture, the Caribbean, and NYC street vocabulary. The single largest source of new mainstream English slang in living memory.
See all Black culture & AAVE slang on Slangora.
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Other words near "talk at" (T)
takkietaklutaksaltalabtalavTaliatalk cocktalking stagetalking sticktalk out of one's asstalk shitetalk the legs off a pot
Browse all slang words starting with T.
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Semantically related
- conversate72%
To converse, to have conversation.
- conversate67%
(now, chiefly, African American Vernacular English, nonstandard) To converse, to have conversation.
- rap at67%
(slang, AAVE) To talk to; to communicate with; to tell of important things.
- natter65%
(colloquial) To talk casually; to discuss unimportant matters.