talent

plural talents

1. countableuncountableA marked natural ability or skill.

   He has a real talent for drawing.

   1 more example

   Feel awfully about Scott... I always knew he couldn't think—he never could—but he had a marvelous talent and the thing is to use it—not whine in public.

   1936 February 15, Ernest Hemingway, edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli and Judith Baughman, The Sons of Maxwell Perkins: Letters of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Wolfe, and Their Editor (letter to Maxwell Perkins), Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press, published 2004, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 202

   Synonyms: endowment, gift, ability, technique, aptitude, capacity, craft, capability

2. countableuncountablebusinessPeople of talent, viewed collectively; a talented person.First known use 19th c.

   The director searched their talent pool to fill the new opening.

   1 more example

   And all over Hollywood, suits are licking their chops at the prospect of more malleable actors. “She’s not going to talk back,” one top talent wrangler told me dryly.

   2025 October 4, Maureen Dowd, “When A.I. Came for Hollywood”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 05 Oct 2025

3. countableslanguncountableOne, especially a woman, from a particular place or area, judged by their attractiveness.First known use 20th c.

   Not much talent in this bar tonight—let's hit the clubs.

   1 more example

   I went down to the beach front, of course, for that was the first thing that all Vaalies did: to look at the sea and to check the talent on the beach.

   2011, Nic Venter, Wow! What a Life!, page 179

4. countablehistoricaluncountableA historical unit of weight and money used in ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, and the Middle East, equal to about 30 to 60 kg in various times and places.

   For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew XXV:14-15

5. countableobsoleteuncountableA desire or inclination for something.First known use until 16th c.

1. A city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States.