1
a
: the communication or expression of thoughts in spoken words
b
: exchange of spoken words : conversation
4
: the power of expressing or communicating thoughts by speaking
Examples of speech in a Sentence
She has to make a speech at the convention.
a graduation speech about embracing future challenges
I was so flustered that I momentarily lost the power of speech.
Slang is used mostly in informal speech.
Many words are more common in speech than in writing.
Recent Examples on the Web
The vendor said some other things that were unintelligible because of the overlap between her live speech and the lagging translation.
—
Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 16 Oct. 2025
Capote brilliantly captured those novelistic qualities—the faces, the houses, the rhythms of speech—in his depiction of mid-20th century rural Kansas and it was rightly considered one of the great books of its time.
—Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2025
The United Kingdom has seen a 35% rise in the last year in the number of suspects investigated annually for possibly working for a hostile foreign government, the head of the UK’s domestic security service, MI5, said in a speech Thursday.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
Following his speech, Corson introduced Bublé who performed big band tunes to close the night.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for speech
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 16 Oct. 2025
Capote brilliantly captured those novelistic qualities—the faces, the houses, the rhythms of speech—in his depiction of mid-20th century rural Kansas and it was rightly considered one of the great books of its time.
—Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2025
The United Kingdom has seen a 35% rise in the last year in the number of suspects investigated annually for possibly working for a hostile foreign government, the head of the UK’s domestic security service, MI5, said in a speech Thursday.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
Following his speech, Corson introduced Bublé who performed big band tunes to close the night.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for speech
Cite this Entry
“Speech.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/speech. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
speech
noun1
: the communication or expression of thoughts in spoken words
2
a
: something that is spoken
b
: a public talk
3
: a form of communication (as a language or dialect) used by a particular group
4
: the power of expressing or communicating thoughts by speaking
Medical Definition
speech
noun
: the communication or expression of thoughts in spoken words
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