lipread

American  

[lip-reed] / ˈlɪpˌrid /

verb (used with object)

lipread, lipreading

1. to understand spoken words by interpreting the movements of a speaker's lips without hearing the sounds made.

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verb (used without object)

lipread, lipreading

1. to use lipreading.

Other Word Forms

• lipreader noun

Etymology

Origin of lipread

First recorded in 1890–95; lip + read ¹

Example Sentences

I don’t lipread, but I find myself looking to the speaker’s mouth for clues, and that seems to help.

From Salon • Sep. 30, 2024

"But for a deaf person in such a stressful situation it was very difficult to lipread, despite their efforts," she said.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2023

The umpire can lipread through masks, it appears, or read eyes.

From The Guardian • Jan. 24, 2022

Just about everyone, regardless of hearing ability, picks up information from seeing others’ faces, and most people lipread to some degree.

From Slate • May 12, 2020

He is well sketched by the author, and one impudent touch is superb: Mannix has a deaf son, she relates, and thus has learned to lipread.

From Time Magazine Archive