speer
verb (used with or without object)
to ask; inquire.
speer
1 American
[speer]
/ spɪər /
Or
speir,
verb (used with or without object)
Speer
2
American
[speer, shpeyr ]
/ spɪər, ʃpeɪr /
noun
Etymology
Origin of speer
before 900; Middle English speren, spiren, Old English spyrian to make tracks, trace, ask about; cognate with German spüren, Old Norse spyrja to ask; akin to spoor
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.
See Examples For:
An’ a’ the time we could no speer a thing.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
I had seen them speer at the fellow, and put out their twa fingers when they saw him, to guard against the evil eye.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
"And wha may they be noo, if I may speer?"
From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland Volume 21 by Leighton, Alexander
"Are ye no frighted, Marion, to speer sic a question, when ye think how ye left them, and what for ye did sae?"
From Ringan Gilhaize or The Covenanters by Galt, John
For some days before the close he was calm and cheerful, rehearsing to the neighbours that came to speer for him, many things like those of which I have spoken herein.
From Ringan Gilhaize or The Covenanters by Galt, John
In 1977, he published Fighter - a non-fictional account of the Battle of Britain, which Hitler's former armaments minister, Albert Speer, described as "excellent".
From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2026
Mr. Dick’s account of Speer as head of the OT makes for compelling and sobering reading.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 24, 2025
About his famous confidence when seated face-to-face with intimidating subjects — one interview was with Albert Speer, Hitler’s chief architect and minister of armaments — Ophuls was characteristically candid and self-effacing.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2025
The leader was a company created by media executive Bud Paxson and lawyer and entrepreneur Roy Speer.
From Slate ● Feb. 21, 2025
Ellis Speer was saying, “How far are we from Pennsylvania, Colonel, you have any idea?”
From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara
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.
