lip-reading

British

noun

Also called: speech-reading. a method used by deaf people to comprehend spoken words by interpreting movements of the speaker's lips

"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

Other Word Forms

lip-reader noun

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.

We both have hearing aids and rely on lip-reading and have had to kind of navigate that.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 19, 2025

It also left Lacey relying on lip-reading or worrying she'd need her mum around to help her.

From BBC • Feb. 6, 2024

Years of speech lessons and lip-reading practice forced Ross, who is Deaf, to conform to a society that favors sound.

From New York Times • Oct. 5, 2022

It said Cummings could communicate with her therapist using written notes, lip-reading or gesturing.

From Washington Post • Apr. 28, 2022

I watch his mouth, lip-reading the Polish phrases he’s learned by rote.

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023