Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
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- [speek]
- /spik/
- /spiːk/
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [speek]
- /spik/
Definitions of speak word
- verb without object speak to utter words or articulate sounds with the ordinary voice; talk: He was too ill to speak. 1
- verb without object speak to communicate vocally; mention: to speak to a person about various matters. 1
- verb without object speak to converse: She spoke with him for an hour. 1
- verb without object speak to deliver an address, discourse, etc.: to speak at a meeting. 1
- verb without object speak to make a statement in written or printed words. 1
- verb without object speak to communicate, signify, or disclose by any means; convey significance. 1
Information block about the term
Origin of speak
First appearance:
before 900 One of the 4% oldest English words
before 900; Middle English speken, Old English specan, variant of sprecan; cognate with German sprechen (Old High German sprehhan; compare variant spehhan)
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Speak
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
speak popularity
A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 99% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".
speak usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSynonyms for speak
verb speak
- air — Air is the mixture of gases which forms the Earth's atmosphere and which we breathe.
- animadvert — to comment with strong criticism (upon); make censorious remarks (about)
- articulate — If you describe someone as articulate, you mean that they are able to express their thoughts and ideas easily and well.
- be-held — simple past tense and past participle of behold.
- belt out — If you belt out a song, you sing or play it very loudly.
Antonyms for speak
verb speak
- act out — If you act out an event which has happened, you copy the actions which took place and make them into a play.
- auscultate — to examine (a patient) by means of auscultation
- auscultated — Simple past tense and past participle of auscultate.
- close in — If a group of people close in on a person or place, they come nearer and nearer to them and gradually surround them.
- co-oped — a cooperative store, dwelling, program, etc.
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