speaker

¹ American  

[spee-ker] / ˈspi kər /

noun

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

• nonspeaker noun
• speakership noun

Etymology

Origin of speaker

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

Example Sentences

As the meeting proceeded, speakers called the cap unnecessary and potentially harmful to property values.

From The Wall Street Journal

Mr. Hauser is a former deputy speaker of the Israeli Knesset and a former chairman of the Israel-Japan Parliamentarians Friendship Group.

From The Wall Street Journal

On Monday morning, the speaker of Iran's parliament said the protesters' "legitimate demands" should be heard and used as the basis for change.

From BBC

Usually we don’t get to actually listen to songs while we’re filming, but just to get a vibe, they were playing it on the speakers while we were in the truck.

From Los Angeles Times

Parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, a former commander in the hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, told lawmakers Tuesday that “protests must be treated with generosity, responsibility and full accountability.”

From The Wall Street Journal