definitions

speaker

[ spee-ker ]
/ ˈspi kər /
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR speaker ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person who speaks.
a person who speaks formally before an audience; lecturer; orator.
(usually initial capital letter) the presiding officer of the U.S. House of Representatives, the British House of Commons, or other such legislative assembly.
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.
a book of selections for practice in declamation.

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RELATED WORDS

lecturer, speechmaker, announcer, rhetorician, mouthpiece, spokesperson, orator, elocutionist, keynoter

Nearby words

speak to, speak too soon, speak up, speak volumes, speakeasy, speaker, speaker of the house, speaker, tris, speakerphone, speaking, speaking clock

Idioms

    be/not beon speakers, British. speaking(defs 9, 10).

Origin of speaker

Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325; see origin at speak, -er1
Related formsspeak·er·ship, nounnon·speak·er, noun

Definition for speaker (2 of 2)

Speaker

[ spee-ker ]
/ ˈspi kər /

noun

Tris(tram E.),1888–1958, U.S. baseball player.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for speaker

British Dictionary definitions for speaker (1 of 2)

speaker

/ (ˈspiːkə) /

noun

a person who speaks, esp at a formal occasion
See loudspeaker
Derived Formsspeakership, noun

British Dictionary definitions for speaker (2 of 2)

Speaker

/ (ˈspiːkə) /

noun

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
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

Word Origin and History for speaker

speaker

n.

c.1300, "one who speaks," agent noun from speak (v.). First applied to "person who presides over an assembly" c.1400, from Anglo-French (late 14c.). In reference to the English Parliament, Sir Thomas de Hungerford apparently was the first.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper