speaker

[ spee-ker ]
See synonyms for speaker on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person who speaks.

  2. a person who speaks formally before an audience; lecturer; orator.

  1. (usually initial capital letter) the presiding officer of the U.S. House of Representatives, the British House of Commons, or other such legislative assembly.

  2. Also called loudspeaker. an electroacoustic device, often housed in a cabinet, that is connected as a component in an audio system, its function being to make speech or music audible.

  3. a book of selections for practice in declamation.

Idioms about speaker

  1. be / not be on speakers, British. speaking (defs. 9, 10).

Origin of speaker

1
Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325; see origin at speak, -er1

Other words from speaker

  • speak·er·ship, noun
  • non·speak·er, noun

Other definitions for Speaker (2 of 2)

Speaker
[ spee-ker ]

noun
  1. Tris(tram E.), 1888–1958, U.S. baseball player.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use speaker in a sentence

  • Several able speakers had made long addresses in support of the bill when one Mr. Morrisett, from Monroe, took the floor.

  • It was the conversation of every circle; and discussed according to the dispositions, or views of the speakers.

  • They are part of a family of eight children, four of whom are dumb, the dumb and the speakers being born alternately.

  • Two speakers from London were to address the meeting, and Jim gazed very critically on both.

    The Chequers | James Runciman
  • There was a recruiting meeting going on in Trafalgar Square, the speakers standing on the monument.

    The Amazing Interlude | Mary Roberts Rinehart

British Dictionary definitions for speaker (1 of 2)

speaker

/ (ˈspiːkə) /


noun
  1. a person who speaks, esp at a formal occasion

Derived forms of speaker

  • speakership, noun

British Dictionary definitions for Speaker (2 of 2)

Speaker

/ (ˈspiːkə) /


noun
  1. the presiding officer in any of numerous legislative bodies, including the House of Commons in Britain and Canada and the House of Representatives in the US, Australia, and New Zealand

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012