speech

American  

[speech] / spitʃ /

noun

• speeches
  plural

1. the faculty or power of speaking; oral communication; ability to express one's thoughts and emotions by speech sounds and gesture.

   Losing her speech made her feel isolated from humanity.

   Synonyms:

   communication, conversation, parley, parlance

2. the act of speaking.

   He expresses himself better in speech than in writing.

3. something that is spoken; an utterance, remark, or declaration.

   We waited for some speech that would indicate her true feelings.

   Synonyms:

   talk, mention, comment, asseveration, assertion, observation

4. a form of communication in spoken language, made by a speaker before an audience for a given purpose.

   a fiery speech.

   Synonyms:

   discourse, talk

5. any single utterance of an actor in the course of a play, motion picture, etc.

6. the form of utterance characteristic of a particular people or region; a language or dialect.

   Synonyms:

   patois, tongue

7. manner of speaking, as of a person.

   Your slovenly speech is holding back your career.

8. a field of study devoted to the theory and practice of oral communication.

9. Archaic. rumor.

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speech British  

/ spiːtʃ /

noun

1. 1. the act or faculty of speaking, esp as possessed by persons

      to have speech with somebody

   2. ( as modifier )

      speech therapy

2. that which is spoken; utterance

3. a talk or address delivered to an audience

4. a person's characteristic manner of speaking

5. a national or regional language or dialect

6. linguistics another word for parole

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Usage

What is speech? Speech is the ability to express thoughts and emotions through vocal sounds and gestures. The act of doing this is also known as speech. Speech is something only humans are capable of doing and this ability has contributed greatly to humanity’s ability to develop civilization. Speech allows humans to communicate much more complex information than animals are able to. Almost all animals make sounds or noises with the intent to communicate with each other, such as mating calls and yelps of danger. However, animals aren’t actually talking to each other. That is, they aren’t forming sentences or sharing complicated information. Instead, they are making simple noises that trigger another animal’s natural instincts. While speech does involve making noises, there is a lot more going on than simple grunts and growls. First, humans’ vocal machinery, such as our lungs, throat, vocal chords, and tongue, allows for a wide range of intricate sounds. Second, the human brain is incredibly complex, allowing humans to process vocal sounds and understand combinations of them as words and oral communication. The human brain is essential for speech. While chimpanzees and other apes have vocal organs similar to humans’, their brains are much less advanced and they are unable to learn speech.

Synonym Usage

Speech, language refer to the means of communication used by people. Speech is the expression of ideas and thoughts by means of articulate vocal sounds, or the faculty of thus expressing ideas and thoughts. Language is a set of conventional signs, not necessarily articulate or even vocal (any set of signs, signals, or symbols that convey meaning, including written words, may be called language): a spoken language. Thus, language is the set of conventions, and speech is the action of putting these to use: He couldn't understand the speech of the natives because it was in a foreign language. Speech, address, oration, harangue are terms for a communication to an audience. Speech is the general word, with no implication of kind or length, or whether planned or not. An address is a rather formal, planned speech, appropriate to a particular subject or occasion. An oration is a polished, rhetorical address, given usually on a notable occasion, that employs eloquence and studied methods of delivery. A harangue is a violent, informal speech, often addressed to a casually assembled audience, and intended to arouse strong feeling (sometimes to lead to mob action).

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• self-speech
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• speeches
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of speech

First recorded before 900; Middle English speche, Old English spǣc, variant of sprǣc, derivative of sprecan “to speak”; cognate with German Sprache; see origin at speak;

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Explanation

When you say something out loud, that's speech. When you give a speech, you say a lot of things in front of a group. Maybe you should open with a joke? The ability to produce and understand speech in complex ways has long been considered part of what separates humans from other animals. "Freedom of speech" is the right to express your thoughts and opinions publicly. Adjectives, nouns and verbs are "parts of speech." By the way: speech is a noun.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

speech speeches

By Monday evening, footage of the protests had made its way into his stump speech for embattled Sen. Roger Marshall in Kansas, where video clips had already been screened for rallygoers.

From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2026

During his speech at the event, Streeting described Telford as being "synonymous with engineering and manufacturing".

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

Meta made misleading statements about whether it sells people’s data and profits from misinformation or hate speech, along with other practices, the New Mexico jury found.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was interrupted by a protester during his keynote speech at the chip giant’s artificial-intelligence conference in Berlin.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026

And I will imagine myself on the high school stage four years from now, giving a valedictorian speech after beating Jonah by way more than half a point while he looks on, moping.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Her speeches tend to have fewer policy talking points.

From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2026

In 2012, it had also allowed her to bring her personal assistant into the chamber to read her speeches when required, the House of Lords press office said in a release.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

The format itself is less appealing to many younger viewers, who prefer to watch clips of performances, acceptance speeches and red carpet walks on their phone rather than sit through a three-hour ceremony.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

Gabriel Perez, an aide who operated Trump’s teleprompter, recently left the administration after revelations that he placed lucrative bets on the prediction market Kalshi based on the content of the president’s speeches.

From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026

And I’d been out there giving speeches already for more than a year.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

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Related Words

• address
• appeal
• commentary
• debate
• lecture
• paper
• rhetoric
• sermon

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