- the faculty or power of speaking; oral communication; ability to express one's thoughts and emotions by speech sounds and gesture: Losing her speech made her feel isolated from humanity.
- the act of speaking: He expresses himself better in speech than in writing.
- something that is spoken; an utterance, remark, or declaration: We waited for some speech that would indicate her true feelings.
- a form of communication in spoken language, made by a speaker before an audience for a given purpose: a fiery speech.
- any single utterance of an actor in the course of a play, motion picture, etc.
- the form of utterance characteristic of a particular people or region; a language or dialect.
- manner of speaking, as of a person: Your slovenly speech is holding back your career.
- a field of study devoted to the theory and practice of oral communication.
- rumor.
- the act or faculty of speaking, esp as possessed by persons
- (as modifier)
- that which is spoken; utterance
- a talk or address delivered to an audience
- a person's characteristic manner of speaking
- a national or regional language or dialect
- linguistics another word for parole (def. 5)
