26984 words

conversation

4 definitions • 8 examples
1
(a) talk between two or more people in which thoughts, feelings, and ideas are expressed, questions are asked and answered, or news and information is exchanged:

Examples:

have a conversation with She had a strange conversation with the man who moved in upstairs.
hold/carry on a conversation It's impossible to hold/carry on a conversation with all this noise going on!
strike up a conversation with I struck up (= started) an interesting conversation with your uncle.
Because of television, many people have lost the art of conversation (= talking to each other).
run out of conversation Whenever I'm in a social situation with my boss, we seem to run out of conversation (= things to say to each other) after two minutes!
2
an informal, usually private, talk in which two or more people exchange thoughts, feelings, or ideas, or in which news or information is given or discussed:

Examples:

[ C ] We had a brief conversation Friday.
[ U ] The topic of conversation was college plans.
3
If you make conversation, you cause someone to talk to you, esp. about unimportant matters.
4
a discussion with someone about a particular subject:

Examples:

have a conversation We believe the company has the resources it needs, but if more is needed, we'll have that conversation.

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