SPEAK (spoke, spoken)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: spoke    , spoken   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does speak mean? 

• SPEAK (verb)
  The verb SPEAK has 5 senses:

1. express in speech

2. exchange thoughts; talk with

3. use language

4. give a speech to

5. make a characteristic or natural sound

  Familiarity information: SPEAK used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SPEAK (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they speak    ... he / she / it speaks   
Past simple: spoke   
Past participle: spoken   
-ing form: speaking   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Express in speech

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

mouth; speak; talk; utter; verbalise; verbalize

Context example:

This depressed patient does not verbalize

Hypernyms (to "speak" is one way to...):

communicate; intercommunicate (transmit thoughts or feelings)

Verb group:

verbalise; verbalize (be verbose)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "speak"):

slur (utter indistinctly)

inflect; modulate; tone (vary the pitch of one's speech)

deliver; present (deliver (a speech, oration, or idea))

generalise; generalize (speak or write in generalities)

blab; blabber; chatter; clack; gabble; gibber; maunder; palaver; piffle; prate; prattle; tattle; tittle-tattle; twaddle (speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly)

chatter (make noise as if chattering away)

jaw; rattle on; yack; yack away; yap away (talk incessantly and tiresomely)

open up (talk freely and without inhibition)

snivel; whine (talk in a tearful manner)

murmur (speak softly or indistinctly)

maunder; mumble; mussitate; mutter (talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice)

phonate; vocalise; vocalize (utter speech sounds)

bark (speak in an unfriendly tone)

bay (utter in deep prolonged tones)

jabber; mouth off; rabbit on; rant; rave; spout (talk in a noisy, excited, or declamatory manner)

hiss; sibilate; siss; sizz (express or utter with a hiss)

cackle (talk or utter in a cackling manner)

babble (utter meaningless sounds, like a baby, or utter in an incoherent way)

chant; intone; tone (utter monotonously and repetitively and rhythmically)

gulp (utter or make a noise, as when swallowing too quickly)

sing (produce tones with the voice)

rasp (utter in a grating voice)

blunder; blunder out; blurt; blurt out; ejaculate (utter impulsively)

read (look at, interpret, and say out loud something that is written or printed)

troll (speak or recite rapidly or in a rolling voice)

begin (begin to speak or say)

lip off; shoot one's mouth off (speak spontaneously and without restraint)

shout (utter in a loud voice; talk in a loud voice (usually denoting characteristic manner of speaking))

whisper (speak softly; in a low voice)

peep (speak in a hesitant and high-pitched tone of voice)

speak up (speak louder; raise one's voice)

snap; snarl (utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone)

speak in tongues (speak unintelligibly in or as if in religious ecstasy)

bumble; falter; stammer; stutter (speak haltingly)

drone; drone on (talk in a monotonous voice)

blubber; blubber out (utter while crying)

talk about; talk of (discuss or mention)

whiff (utter with a puff of air)

verbalise; verbalize (be verbose)

swallow (utter indistinctly)

enthuse (utter with enthusiasm)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Also:

speak up (speak louder; raise one's voice)

Derivation:

speaker (someone who expresses in language; someone who talks (especially someone who delivers a public speech or someone especially garrulous))

speaking (the utterance of intelligible speech)

speech (something spoken)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Exchange thoughts; talk with

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

speak; talk

Context example:

Actions talk louder than words

Hypernyms (to "speak" is one way to...):

communicate; intercommunicate (transmit thoughts or feelings)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "speak"):

rap (talk volubly)

discourse; dissertate; hold forth (talk at length and formally about a topic)

dish the dirt; gossip (wag one's tongue; speak about others and reveal secrets or intimacies)

butterfly; chat up; coquet; coquette; dally; flirt; mash; philander; romance (talk or behave amorously, without serious intentions)

converse; discourse (carry on a conversation)

monologuise; monologuize; soliloquise; soliloquize (talk to oneself)

talk turkey (discuss frankly, often in a business context)

level (talk frankly with; lay it on the line)

cheek (speak impudently to)

dogmatise; dogmatize (speak dogmatically)

spiel (speak at great length (about something))

talk down (speak in a condescending manner, as if to a child)

orate (talk pompously)

pontificate (talk in a dogmatic and pompous manner)

carry on; continue; go on; proceed (continue talking)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP
Somebody ----s to somebody

Also:

speak for (be a spokesperson for)

Derivation:

speech (the exchange of spoken words)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Use language

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

speak; talk

Context example:

they speak a strange dialect

Hypernyms (to "speak" is one way to...):

communicate; intercommunicate (transmit thoughts or feelings)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "speak"):

run on (talk or narrate at length)

smatter (speak with spotty or superficial knowledge)

slang (use slang or vulgar language)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue speak

Derivation:

speaking (the utterance of intelligible speech)

speech (the mental faculty or power of vocal communication)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Give a speech to

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

address; speak

Context example:

The chairman addressed the board of trustees

"Speak" entails doing...:

speak; talk (use language)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "speak"):

blaze away (speak with fire and passion)

memorialise; memorialize (address in a memorial)

keynote (give the keynote address to (an audience))

harangue (deliver a harangue to; address forcefully)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

speaking (delivering an address to a public audience)

speech (the act of delivering a formal spoken communication to an audience)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Make a characteristic or natural sound

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Context example:

The drums spoke

Hypernyms (to "speak" is one way to...):

sound (give off a certain sound or sounds)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

 Context examples 

Well now, Jane, you know, or at least I will tell you, that when a criminal is accused, he is always allowed to speak in his own defence.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

I thanked my friend from my heart, but I did not speak.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

"Did you speak?" asked the girl, in wonder.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

"Well, in the first place, I don't think my ideal would speak like that," said she.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It won’t always be this way—next month will be a better time to speak up.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Everybody about here speaks of his kindness to him.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

They may also have problems such as depression, sleep problems, or trouble chewing, swallowing, or speaking.

(Parkinson's Disease, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

Using a drawn representation of the body, patients who are unable to speak mark areas where they feel pain.

(Pain Map, NCI Thesaurus)

Once or twice after that Skiff Miller opened his mouth and closed it again without speaking.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

The fraction of a population that does not speak English.

(Percent non-English Speakers, NCI Thesaurus)