speaker
noun
a person who speaks.
speaker
1 American
[spee-ker]
/ ˈspi kər /
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.
idioms
Speaker
2
American
[spee-ker]
/ ˈspi kər /
noun
speaker
1
British
/ ˈspiːkə /
noun
-
a person who speaks, esp at a formal occasion
-
See loudspeaker
Speaker
2
British
/ ˈspiːkə /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of speaker
Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325; see origin at speak, -er 1
Explanation
A speaker is someone who delivers a speech or a device that makes sounds louder. The speaker gave a great speech but you couldn't hear it because the speaker was turned off. Speaker has a few different meanings, from the person who addresses a group, to the piece of equipment that amplifies sound to someone who is fluent in a particular language. For example, a native Spanish speaker can usually tell if someone learned the language in high school because textbooks don't always include the slang and idioms of everyday speech.
Vocabulary lists containing speaker
Introducing Rhetoric: Using the "Available Means" (Chapter 1)
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STAAR English II: Elements of Literature 1
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Poetry
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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.
Before being elected to Congress, Bass served in the California state assembly, where she became the first black woman to serve as a House speaker in any state legislature.
From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026
The world’s richest man has been invited as the keynote speaker for ASML’s private technology conference this Thursday, according to Bloomberg and other media reports.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026
After speaker introductions, the brainstorming began to “right this ship,” as one person said, and to keep exploring ways to stop data centers.
From Salon • Jun. 6, 2026
Senate and is home to the first female House speaker, San Francisco’s Nancy Pelosi.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026
The speaker onstage now was a handsome white boy from Louisiana named Landry.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
