noun
speech
SPEECH/spiːtʃ/
The expression of thoughts through spoken language.
Clear speech helps listeners understand your ideas the first time.
Etymology
Old English spæc covered both the act of speaking and discourse itself. The audience-address sense makes speech a particular organized occasion of speaking, rather than spoken communication generally.
In context
The speech itself, is there a direct call for the audience to act in a certain way?
More examples
- Her speech becomes clearer as she recovers.
- The therapist helps children who have difficulty with speech.
- Background noise makes his speech hard to understand.
Forms
speech
speechless adjective — Unable to speak from strong emotion.