lipread

[lip-reed]

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.

verb (used without object)

lipread, lipreading 

1. to use lipreading.

Other Word Forms

• lipreader noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of lipread¹

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.

Read more on Salon

Last month at the Golden Globes, the singer and friend Selena Gomez were caught on camera talking and fans all over the internet were lipreading their conversation.

Read more on Salon

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

Read more on BBC

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

Read more on The Guardian

All attendees are allowed to remove their mask when speaking to Paralympians or others who rely on lipreading—with the suggestion that they stay two meters from the athletes.

Read more on Scientific American