Skip to the meanings
Slova
Start learning
Menu

Talk over meaning

Talk over means to discuss something with someone before you decide what to do. It can also mean to speak loudly while someone else is speaking, so they cannot be heard.

Check yourself: 3 questions

talk something over

talk over · talked · talking

C1Separable+1 more meaning

I need to talk it over with my wife first.

Talk over meanings and examples

2 meanings, each with its own CEFR level. A level marked ~ is our estimate: Oxford and Cambridge give none for that meaning.

  1. 1discuss something with someone before you decide what to do
  2. 2speak loudly while someone else is speaking, so they cannot be heard
  1. 1

    Discuss something with someone before you decide what to do

    talk something over

    C1Separable

    • I need to talk it over with my wife first.
    • Let’s talk over the plan at lunch.
    • Did you talk over the job offer with your parents?
  2. 2

    Speak loudly while someone else is speaking, so they cannot be heard

    talk over somebody or something

    C1Not separable

    • Please don’t talk over me. Let me finish.
    • The two guests kept talking over each other on the show.
    • He always talks over his younger sister.
Slova

Use talk over in real conversations

  • Learn new words with picture cards
  • Talk with Felix, an AI tutor, about the things you love
  • Short lessons at your level, a few minutes a day
Free to join · 50% off at launchStart learning with Slova

Is talk over separable?

When talk over means discuss, it is separable: talk over the problem, talk the problem over, talk it over. Use with for the person: talk it over with your boss.

When talk over means speak at the same time as someone, the person comes after over: Stop talking over me. You cannot put the person in the middle.

Verb tenses for talk over

PresentI talk over · she talks over
Pasttalked over
Present perfecthave talked over
-ing formtalking over

Common mistakes with talk over

What learners often say, and what to say instead.

  • Wrong: Let me talk over it with my family.

    Right: Let me talk it over with my family.

    A pronoun goes between talk and over.

  • Wrong: We talked over about the problem.

    Right: We talked over the problem.

    No about. Talk about or talk over, not both.

  • Wrong: I talked it over to my manager.

    Right: I talked it over with my manager.

    Use with for the person you discuss with.

Synonyms and opposites of talk over

Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.

Similar

Opposite

  • keep to yourselfnot discuss something with anyone
  • decide on the spotdecide at once, with no discussion

Talk over quiz

Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.

  1. 1It’s a big decision. Let me ___ with my partner first.

  2. 2Choose the right sentence.

  3. 3In a meeting, someone says, “Sorry, could you stop talking over me?” What is wrong?

Find your level

The phrasal verbs test adapts as you answer, from A2 to C1, and shows which ones you miss.

Test yourself on talk overTake the full test

Talk over FAQ

Questions people ask about talk over.

Talk over vs think over: what is the difference?

You talk something over with other people. You think something over alone. I’ll think it over and talk it over with my wife.

Talk over vs discuss: what is the difference?

They mean the same in the discuss meaning. Discuss takes no preposition and is more formal: We discussed the plan.

Is talking over someone rude?

Yes, usually. It means you speak while they are speaking so they cannot finish. In meetings it is seen as rude.

Use talk over in real conversations

In Slova you learn new words with picture cards, then use them when you talk about the things you love. A few minutes a day, at your level.

Start learning English
All free tools