Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

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

talent

 noun
     
tal‧ent S3 W3
1 [uncountable and countable] a natural ability to do something wellCOLLOCATIONS COLLOCATIONS
have talent show talent talent contest/show/competition (=a competition in which people show how well they can sing, dance etc) (a) natural talent a hidden talent musical/artistic/creative etc talent a man/woman of many talents (=someone who can do many things well) a wealth of talent (=when there are a lot of people with talent)
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
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary