Definition of speech in English:

speech

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noun

1The expression of or the ability to express thoughts and feelings by articulate sounds.
‘he was born deaf and without the power of speech’
- ‘I'd long since lost the ability to understand human speech.’
- ‘Their research could have implications for discovering how the developing brain processes sound and speech.’
- ‘One of the most compelling is the marked improvement of our ability to understand speech if we can observe the speaker's lips moving.’
- ‘According to the dictionary, collocation is the way words combine in a language to produce natural sounding speech and writing.’
- ‘Even if one is blessed with the senses of touch, smell, speech and hearing, it is sight that gives shape to imagination.’
- ‘They acted in perfect harmony with each other, in speech, facial expression and body language.’
- ‘Artificially generated speech now sounds more human, and has become more intelligible.’
- ‘For most patients, their appearance, comfort, speech and ability to chew and enjoy food are vastly improved.’
- ‘Some scientists suggest that it was a refinement in the vocal tract, allowing a greater range of sounds for speech.’
- ‘In the rapid-fire flow of conversational speech, words are not fully articulated.’
- ‘For hearing and understanding, it required neuro-cognitive networks capable of distinguishing the sounds of human speech and decoding them.’
- ‘In sensory or receptive aphasia, there is a problem with comprehension, and affected people produce speech that sounds fluent but is actually nonsensical or full of meaningless jargon.’
- ‘His ears twitched at the sound of speech, far away.’
- ‘The result is computer-generated speech that sounds more realistic.’
- ‘His open mouth and engaged expression unmistakably indicate speech.’
- ‘This device transmits sound signals directly to the brain, enabling the person to hear certain sounds and speech.’
- ‘They will not improve speech or the ability to swallow, prevent falls, or improve fine motor control.’
- ‘The man's voice was weak, an accent coming through as he lost the ability to control his speech.’
- ‘I'm sure I read somewhere that only 20% of communication is speech.’
- ‘What they needed, I thought, was some way to communicate without speech.’
speaking, talking, verbal communication, verbal expression, articulation
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1. 1.1A person's style of speaking.
  ‘she wouldn't accept his correction of her speech’
  ‘Each has an idiosyncratic style of dress and speech.’
  ‘She had an excellent ear for accents and individual styles of speech, but otherwise did not alter her voice drastically.’
  ‘His soothing, mannered style of speech and genuine affection for his film kept my attention throughout the duration of the commentary.’
  ‘Television's Mr. Rogers is a good example of this style of speech.’
  ‘Linguists such as Robin Lakoff have long recognized the existence of these typically male and female styles of speech.’
  ‘Since the 16th c, the term has been used in English for styles of speech that mark people off from each other, principally by region.’
  ‘His style of speech owed more to the old-style BBC accent than to either Scotland or Ulster.’
  ‘The Japanese language includes sharply divergent styles of speech for men and women.’
  ‘The voice contained characteristics similar to his style of speech, particularly his typically slow and drawn out pronunciation.’
  ‘The dialog might be poorly written, but it helps distinguish characters simply by the tone or style of their speech.’
  ‘From specific costuming decisions to styles of speech, each character gives us an impression of how a subset of American culture may have acted or behaved at the time.’
  ‘Jamaicans adapt their speech to the social context of the moment.’
  ‘The mother said, her accent giving her speech a melodious tone.’
  ‘Her speech was also slow and hesitant.’
  ‘The people here are darker and more heavily built and have a different lilt to their speech.’
  ‘His accent slurred his speech, and he jumped from register to register as he spoke, as though speaking in sing-song.’
  ‘Frequently, the tone of their speech is flat and unexpressive.’
  ‘Ivy winced and tried to tone her speech down to that of a layman.’
  ‘I was awed by his articulate speech and ability to charm.’
  ‘His vocabulary and manner of speech sounded as though it belonged to a British nobleman, but his voice was that of a typical New York male of his age.’
  diction, elocution, manner of speaking, articulation, enunciation, pronunciation
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2A formal address or discourse delivered to an audience.
‘the headmistress made a speech about how much they would miss her’
- ‘The manner in which he conducted branch meetings or indeed his professionalism in his delivery of addresses and speeches at formal functions would be sadly missed.’
- ‘Formal speeches were delivered at the main gate but were drowned out by a low flying army helicopter.’
- ‘At 81, he can get the full attention of an audience while delivering a speech or singing a song..’
- ‘Formal and lengthy speeches accompany the presentation of a whale's tooth.’
- ‘In August 2001 he addressed the issue in one of the most morally serious speeches ever delivered by a U.S. President.’
- ‘He loved listening to her when she made long speeches, or delivered lectures.’
- ‘Before that, President Bush will deliver two more speeches in his drive to try to regain public confidence about progress in that troubled country.’
- ‘In effect he has been giving daytime speeches with tiny audiences.’
- ‘The VIP guests and the public will then meet in the Atlantic hotel, Enniscrone for formal speeches and refreshments.’
- ‘Clement delivered the best speeches and he shone in debates.’
- ‘Breaking with tradition, the graduates conducted the ceremony in English and translated speeches into their native language for the audience.’
- ‘I think the whole region is awaiting the speech of the president.’
- ‘Once in a while, I will have to make a speech to the nation.’
- ‘I gave a speech to the nation that was cleared by the intelligence services.’
- ‘Former president, now private citizen, Bill Clinton, giving his farewell speech to the nation Thursday night.’
- ‘But his tendency towards dull speeches, opaque language and meandering responses to questions almost undid him.’
- ‘Delegates then applauded his work and the help he gave our region after his speech.’
- ‘He stepped into the clearing and began to give a speech in another language.’
- ‘There had been speeches, entertainers, music and dancing.’
- ‘Finally finishing her speech she uttered a few last words.’
talk, address, lecture, discourse, oration, disquisition, peroration, declamation, deliverance, presentation
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1. 2.1A sequence of lines written for one character in a play.
  ‘Antony's speech over Caesar's body’
  ‘Other cassettes sport Agatha Christie tales and one cassette in particular is all about the great speeches by famous characters in various Shakespearean plays.’
  ‘And then in the middle of my long speech I forgot my lines.’
  words, role, part, script, speech, dialogue
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