What does "speak" mean?

1. (to say words out loud) to use your voice to say words. 2. (to have a conversation) to talk with another person. 3. (to know a language) to be able to use a specific language to communicate. 4. (to give a speech) to give a formal talk to a large group of people. 5. (to understand a topic) to understand a difficult subject as if it were a language you know. 6. (to suggest or indicate) to show that something is true without using words. 7. (special language) the special words or style of talking used by a specific group.

speak — meaning, definition & examples

Q: Is it correct to say "I spoke him about the problem."?

No — say "I spoke to him about the problem.". When 'speak' means to talk to someone, you must use the preposition 'to' before the person.

Word

Infinitive

speak

Past

spoke

Past participle

spoken

01to say words out loud

A1 · Beginner

v. to use your voice to say words.

v. to utter words or articulate sounds with the physical voice. Intransitive in this general sense.

“Please speak more slowly so that everyone can understand you.”

“The witness was asked to speak directly into the microphone so that her testimony could be recorded clearly for the court transcript.”

Pitfall

I spoke him about the problem.

I spoke to him about the problem.

When 'speak' means to talk to someone, you must use the preposition 'to' before the person.

Synonyms

talk utter say

Antonyms

be silent

02to have a conversation

A1 · Beginner

v. to talk with another person.

v. to engage in a conversation or verbal exchange with one or more parties.

“We haven't spoken for years, but we are still good friends.”

“The two diplomats spoke privately for over an hour before joining the rest of the delegation for the formal dinner.”

Synonyms

converse chat

03to know a language

A1 · Beginner

v. to be able to use a specific language to communicate.

v. to possess the ability to communicate in a particular language. Transitive — the language functions as the direct object.

“She speaks three languages fluently, including Japanese and French.”

“Although he had lived in the country for a decade, he still struggled to speak the local dialect with total confidence during business negotiations.”

Synonyms

know

04to give a speech

B1 · Intermediate

v. to give a formal talk to a large group of people.

v. to deliver a formal address or presentation to an audience.

“The professor was invited to speak at the international science conference.”

“The keynote guest was scheduled to speak on the ethical implications of artificial intelligence before the floor was opened for a moderated debate.”

Synonyms

address lecture

05to understand a topic

B2 · Upper Intermediate Informal · Humorous

v. to understand a difficult subject as if it were a language you know.

v. to be familiar with or understand a specific jargon, mindset, or technical field. Used transitively in informal contexts.

“I don't speak computer, so you'll have to explain the problem simply.”

“Unless you speak corporate finance, the annual report will likely seem like a collection of impenetrable charts and buzzwords.”

Synonyms

understand follow

06to suggest or indicate

C1 · Advanced Literary

v. to show that something is true without using words.

v. to serve as an indication or evidence of a particular quality or fact.

“The empty house spoke of better times when the family lived there.”

“The elegant simplicity of the building's design speaks of a deep respect for the surrounding natural landscape.”

Synonyms

indicate suggest show

07special language

C1 · Advanced Uncountable noun Informal

n. the special words or style of talking used by a specific group.

n. the specialized vocabulary or jargon associated with a particular group, activity, or fictional world. Often used as a suffix.

“I couldn't understand the tech-speak the engineers were using in the meeting.”

“The article was written in such dense academic-speak that even experts in the field found it difficult to extract the core thesis.”

Synonyms

jargon slang lingo

Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “speak” in context.

01. broadly speak 02. generally speak 03. speak gain 04. speak language

speak vs talk

Speak focuses on the physical act of producing words or formal delivery, while talk focuses on the social exchange of a conversation.

RememberSpeak is a monologue; talk is a dialogue.

From Middle English speke, speken (“to speak”), from Old English specan (“to speak”). This is usually taken to be an irregular alteration of earlier sprecan, spreocan (“to speak”), from Proto-West Germanic sprekan, from Proto-Germanic sprekaną (“to speak, make a sound”), from Proto-Indo-European spreg- (“to make a sound, utter, speak”). Finding this proposed loss of r from the stable cluster spr unparalleled, Hill instead sets up a different root, Proto-West Germanic spekan (“to negotiate”) from Proto-Indo-European bʰégʾ-e- (“to distribute”) with s-mobile, which collapsed in meaning with *sprekan ("to speak" < "to crackle, prattle") and so came to be seen as a free variant thereof. Cognates Cognate with Scots speak, speik (“to speak”), Saterland Frisian spreke (“to speak”), West Frisian sprekke (“to speak”), Central Franconian sjprèche (“to speak”), Dutch and Low German spreken (“to speak”), German sprechen (“to speak”), Luxembourgish spriechen (“to speak”), and also with Albanian shpreh (“to express, manifest, show”) through Indo-European.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

VERB

speak(A1)

NOUN

ADJECTIVE