speak
verb (used without object)
to utter words or articulate sounds with the ordinary voice; talk.
Jump To:
-
speak
-
-speak
-speaka combining form extracted from newspeak (coined by George Orwell in his novel,1984 ), used in the formation of compound words, usually derogatory, derisive, or facetious, that denote the style or vocabulary of a discipline, person, era, etc., as specified by the initial element.
speak
1 American
[speek]
/ spik /
verb (used without object)
-
speaks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
spoke,
past
-
spake,
past (Archaic)
-
spoken,
past participle
-
speaking
present participle
-
to utter words or articulate sounds with the ordinary voice; talk.
He was too ill to speak.
-
to communicate vocally; mention.
to speak to a person about various matters.
-
to converse.
She spoke with him for an hour.
-
to deliver an address, discourse, etc..
to speak at a meeting.
-
to make a statement in written or printed words.
-
to communicate, signify, or disclose something by any means; convey significance.
The voters have spoken loud and clear.
-
Phonetics. to produce sounds or audible sequences of individual or concatenated sounds of a language, especially through phonation, amplification, and resonance, and through any of a variety of articulatory processes.
-
(of a computer) to express data or other information audibly by means of an audio response unit.
-
to emit a sound, as a musical instrument; make a noise or report.
-
Chiefly British. (of dogs) to bark when ordered.
-
Fox Hunting. (of a hound or pack) to bay on finding a scent.
verb (used with object)
-
speaks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
spoke,
past
-
spake,
past (Archaic)
-
spoken,
past participle
-
speaking
present participle
-
to utter vocally and articulately.
to speak words of praise.
- Synonyms:
- articulate, pronounce
-
to express or make known with the voice.
to speak the truth.
- Synonyms:
- say
-
to declare in writing or printing, or by any means of communication.
-
to make known, indicate, or reveal.
- Synonyms:
- disclose
-
to use, or be able to use, in oral utterance, as a language.
to speak French.
-
(of a computer) to express or make known (data, prompts, etc.) by means of an audio response unit.
-
Nautical. to communicate with (a passing vessel) at sea, as by voice or signal.
We spoke a whaler on the fourth day at sea.
-
Archaic. to speak to or with.
verb phrase
-
speak out to express one's opinion openly and unreservedly.
He was not afraid to speak out when it was something he believed in strongly.
-
speak for
-
to intercede for or recommend; speak in behalf of.
-
to express or articulate the views of; represent.
-
to choose or prefer; have reserved for oneself.
This item is already spoken for.
-
-
speak to
-
to address or respond to, as in speech or action.
The legislature must speak to the issue of gun violence.
-
to be appealing or relevant to.
His music speaks to me on a very deep level.
-
to provide evidence for.
Our company’s rapid growth speaks to the passion and commitment of our employees.
-
idioms
-
speak well for, to be an indication or reflection of (something commendable); testify admirably to.
Her manners speak well for her upbringing.
-
to speak of, worth mentioning.
The country has no mineral resources to speak of.
-
so to speak, to use a manner of speaking; figuratively speaking.
We still don't have our heads above water, so to speak.
-
speak by the book, to say with great authority or precision.
I can't speak by the book, but I know this is wrong.
-speak
2
American
speak
1
British
/ spiːk /
verb
-
to make (verbal utterances); utter (words)
-
to communicate or express (something) in or as if in words
I speak the truth
-
(intr) to deliver a speech, discourse, etc
-
(tr) to know how to talk in (a language or dialect)
he does not speak German
-
(intr) to make a characteristic sound
the clock spoke
-
(intr) (of dogs, esp hounds used in hunting) to give tongue; bark
-
(tr) nautical to hail and converse or communicate with (another vessel) at sea
-
(intr) (of a musical instrument) to produce a sound
-
to be a representative or advocate (of)
he speaks for all the members
-
on good terms; friendly
-
in a manner of speaking; as it were
-
to express one's opinions frankly and plainly
-
of a significant or worthwhile nature
we have had no support to speak of
-speak
2
British
suffix
speak
More Idioms
Usage
What is a basic definition of speak? Speak means to talk, to give a lecture or speech, or to use your voice to say something. The word speak has many other senses as a verb and is used in several idioms. Speak is a synonym of talk and means to use words and sounds to communicate. When humans speak with each other, we use language governed by rules to understand each other. Some birds, such as parrots and ravens, are able to imitate human voices. While they don’t actually understand the words they use, we still say these animals are able to speak.
- Real-life examples: It is very unlikely that you never speak to people. Some people use sign language to communicate because they are unable to speak. If you have a cold or sore throat, it is harder to speak.
- Used in a sentence: My throat hurts, so I am having trouble speaking.
- Used in a sentence: I was in the audience when the president spoke at our college.
- Real-life examples: Witnesses at trials are expected to speak the truth. In the past, in many countries it was often dangerous to speak against God or the country’s religion. People from France speak French.
- Used in a sentence: I knew the right answer, but I was too nervous to speak the words.
What does -speak mean? The combining form -speak is used like a suffix meaning “a way of talking” or "a variety of language." Often, it has a derogatory, or negative, connotation. It is occasionally used in a variety of informal or slang terms. The form -speak is derived from the word newspeak, from George Orwell's book 1984 (1949). Newspeak is the term Orwell coined to describe the way official language often "say[s] one thing in the guise of its opposite, especially in order to serve a political or ideological cause while pretending to be objective." Put simply, it is language used for propaganda, such as describing a forced labor camp as a "joycamp."
Synonym Usage
Speak, converse, talk mean to make vocal sounds, usually for purposes of communication. To speak often implies conveying information and may apply to anything from an informal remark to a scholarly presentation to a formal address: to speak sharply; to speak before Congress. To converse is to exchange ideas with someone by speaking: to converse with a friend. To talk is a close synonym for to speak but usually refers to less formal situations: to talk about the weather; to talk with a friend.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
speaksimple
-
speakssimple
-
have spokenperfect
-
has spokenperfect
-
am speakingprogressive
-
are speakingprogressive
-
is speakingprogressive
-
have been speakingperfect progressive
-
has been speakingperfect progressive
Past
-
spakesimple
-
spokesimple
-
had spokenperfect
-
was speakingprogressive
-
were speakingprogressive
-
had been speakingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of speak
First recorded before 900; Middle English speken, Old English specan, variant of sprecan; cognate with German sprechen ( Old High German sprehhan; compare variant spehhan )
Explanation
To speak is to talk. If a UFO lands in your yard, it will be easier to speak with the aliens if they've learned how to speak English — or if you know how to speak Martian. You can speak to your friend about something private, but you can also speak at the paleontology enthusiasts' convention, presenting your thoughts on the latest dinosaur discoveries. If you speak Spanish or Hindi, it means you are able to communicate in those languages, and if you speak for yourself, it means you offer your own opinions.
Vocabulary lists containing speak
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He can look frantic in his technical area during games, but has an impressive ability to decompress immediately and speak to the players calmly by the time he has returned to the dressing room.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
Over the past few weeks she’s received questions about whether auditors can speak freely without retaliation from the labs and if evaluators can gain sufficient access to the necessary materials needed to conduct an audit.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
It’s become a cliché that journalists ought to speak truth to power.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
“Before that,” she writes, “my mother did not dare to speak about it.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
But Aunt Fanny must have been the last straw, so to speak.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
The decline of McClatchy, with its roots in California’s Gold Rush era, speaks to the larger challenges facing the news industry — and the reason AB 2222 was written.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
The museum has a staffer who led the outreach program: “She’s Jewish and Turkish. She speaks Turkish. But she says that people don’t want to deal with her anymore.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
He said he still speaks to his children "all the time", describing it as "a way I stay connected to them".
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
While Dans is a minor player in the federal government, “when he speaks, international audiences and officials see him as representing U.S. policy,” said Heather Conley, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026
When she speaks, her tone is void of the usual ease and self-confidence.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Thus spake one of the world’s most powerful men this week, after he gained more power still.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 6, 2022
Thus spake Martin Luther King Jr. at the end of the Selma to Montgomery voting rights march.
From Seattle Times ● May 31, 2020
Thus spake Zarathustra He humbly said you listen to me and choose for yourself.
From New York Times ● Apr. 19, 2016
"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child" runs Corinthians 13:11.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 3, 2010
As I approached, I saw that my dear philosophe spake in terms of remonstration to the Serjeant, which officer protested their presence on the ship.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
And slowly, as they spoke to their old classmates, other recollections emerged - the friends sharing their findings with each other on WhatsApp.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
Karbasfrooshan is optimistic he has generated enough interest to pull all that capital together, but he spoke this week with a sports investment banker in the hope of “turning that interest into commitments.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
I recently spoke with some energy-company insiders and sector analysts to find out.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
When Eleanor Osada, 29, attended a 2024 Stevie Nicks concert in London’s Hyde Park, she said that a woman spoke throughout the performance with her back to the stage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Wherever she was, at work, in the food line, in the dormitory, Betsie spoke to those around her about His nearness and His yearning to come into their lives.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
I have been writing about him for most of that time, but although we have spoken frequently and exchanged hundreds of emails we have never met.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
He has a former NFL executive interested in becoming president of business operations and has spoken with a former MLB executive about running stadium operations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
The president told reporters on Friday that he had spoken to Donald Trump Jr. about the afterparty.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
He also said he had spoken with Tehran “directly,” without providing further details.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
Her parents exchanged a look, the kind of look in which something is decided without a word being spoken.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
On Thursday, the Welsh actor said he met the first minister, speaking about how they could move forward adding it was "early days but that's really encouraging".
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
While it’s unclear who is speaking to Kim, someone off-screen says, “Didn’t your father … isn’t it what he died of?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
Financially speaking, given your age, you’re not too young and you’re not too old.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
AI’s creators go from speaking in euphemism to telling us how terrified they are.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
She was gone before I finished speaking, shouting for Alyx to wait for her.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
