speak
[ speek ]
/ spik /
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verb (used without object), spoke or (Archaic) spake [speyk]; /speɪk/; spo·ken or (Archaic) spoke; speak·ing.
verb (used with object), spoke or (Archaic) spake [speyk]; /speɪk/; spo·ken or (Archaic) spoke; speak·ing.
Verb Phrases
SYNONYMS FOR speak
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Idioms for speak
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 )
synonym study for speak
1. 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 WORDS FROM speak
speak·a·ble, adjectivespeak·a·ble·ness, nounspeak·a·bly, adverbDefinition for speak (2 of 2)
-speak
a 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: techspeak; artspeak; nukespeak; leetspeak; geek-speak.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for speak
British Dictionary definitions for speak (1 of 2)
speak
/ (spiːk) /
verb speaks, speaking, spoke or spoken
Derived forms of speak
speakable, adjectiveWord Origin for speak
Old English specan; related to Old High German spehhan, Middle High German spechten to gossip, Middle Dutch speken; see speech
British Dictionary definitions for speak (2 of 2)
-speak
suffix forming nouns
informal the language or jargon of a specific group, organization, or fieldcomputerspeak
Word Origin for -speak
C20: formed on the pattern of newspeak
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Idioms and Phrases with speak
speak
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
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