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• speaker
  speaker

  noun

  a person who speaks.
• Speaker
  Speaker

  noun

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

speaker

¹ American  

[spee-ker] / ˈspi kər /

noun

speakers plural

1. a person who speaks.

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

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

4. 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.

5. a book of selections for practice in declamation.

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idioms

1. be / not be on speakers, speaking.

Speaker ² American  

[spee-ker] / ˈspi kər /

noun

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

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speaker ¹ British  

/ ˈspiːkə /

noun

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

2. See loudspeaker

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Speaker ² British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonspeaker
  noun
• speakership
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• speakers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of speaker

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

Explanation

A speaker is someone who delivers a speech or a device that makes sounds louder. The speaker gave a great speech but you couldn't hear it because the speaker was turned off. Speaker has a few different meanings, from the person who addresses a group, to the piece of equipment that amplifies sound to someone who is fluent in a particular language. For example, a native Spanish speaker can usually tell if someone learned the language in high school because textbooks don't always include the slang and idioms of everyday speech.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

speaker Speaker speakers

Rhodri is a Welsh speaker and like many other people, he said he worries that a lack of affordable housing for local people can affect the language.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

"Even though this is painful for me, we need to do what is right," he said of charges the country's ombudsman are preparing against former House of Representatives speaker Martin Romualdez.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

The speaker is presumably Doom, who makes an appearance as the voiceover ends.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

Throughout his career, he says he's sought interesting work and developed skills that helped him get to where he is now - writing books and being a well-paid public speaker.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

But he’d secretly have his cell phone set on speaker phone in his lap, and he’d call Katherine, who’d be hiding out in the magazine section.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Moroun has since donated $150,000 to House Speaker Mike Johnson’s joint fundraising PAC.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

"This morning a shooting occurred in Biddeford. A person was killed. ICE was involved," Maine House Speaker Ryan Fecteau wrote on Facebook.

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

Last week, at an event in Washington, House Speaker Mike Johnson reminded the audience of one of John Quincy Adams’ favorite lines: “Duty is ours; results are God’s.”

From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle led tributes in Parliament, describing Sir George as a "great politician" and his death as "another sad loss" to the House.

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

Maxx had promised to arrive by 11:40, twenty minutes before the official start of Speaker Day, giving him time to learn the speech and everything.

From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green

Most speakers were science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, professors who urged the board to bring back the SAT and ACT.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

But it is also gaining traction with Chinese speakers in countries like Malaysia and Singapore -- and not just among young women.

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

Some players are native Dutch speakers from the north of the country, while some come from the French-speaking Wallonia region.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

But the man’s family and speakers at the vigil have said that description of events was unlikely, both because of Salgado Araujo’s nature and because they did not trust the agency’s recounting.

From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026

Then the squeaky feedback of the speakers made his ears hurt.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova