talent
- 01 B1 Intermediate
a natural skill or ability to do something very well.
an innate or acquired capacity for achievement or success in a specific field.
Simple“He has a real talent for drawing and spends all his free time sketching.”
In context“The young pianist demonstrated an extraordinary talent for interpretation, bringing a fresh perspective to a well-known classical piece.”
PitfallShe has a talent of playing the piano. She has a talent for playing the piano.The noun 'talent' usually takes the preposition 'for' when followed by a gerund or noun phrase.
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
people who are very good at something, often used in business or sports.
people of high ability or potential viewed collectively, often within a specific industry or organisation.
Simple“The company is always looking for new talent to join their design team.”
In context“The recruitment agency specialises in identifying top-tier talent for executive positions within the renewable energy sector.”
- 03 C1 Advanced
a group of people you find physically attractive.
a collective reference to people considered physically attractive in a specific social setting.
Simple“There was a lot of local talent at the beach party last night.”
In context“He joked that he only attended the opening night of the festival to check out the local talent.”
Synonyms - 04 C2 Proficiency
a unit of weight or money used in very old times, like in ancient Greece.
an ancient unit of weight and value, particularly used in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern civilisations.
Simple“In the ancient story, the king gave the servant a talent of gold.”
In context“The historical text mentions that the tribute paid to the empire amounted to several hundred talents of silver annually.”
Synonyms
From Middle English talent, from Old English talente, borrowed from the plural of Latin talentum (“a Grecian weight; a talent of money”), from Ancient Greek τάλαντον (tálanton, “balance, a particular weight, especially of gold, sum of money, a talent”). Compare Old High German talenta (“talent”). Later figurative senses are from Old French talent (“talent, will, inclination, desire”), derived from the biblical Parable of the Talents.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.