| 1. | the faculty or power of speaking; oral communication; ability to express one's thoughts and emotions by speech sounds and gesture: Losing her speech made her feel isolated from humanity. |
| 2. | the act of speaking: He expresses himself better in speech than in writing. |
| 3. | something that is spoken; an utterance, remark, or declaration: We waited for some speech that would indicate her true feelings. |
| 4. | a form of communication in spoken language, made by a speaker before an audience for a given purpose: a fiery speech. |
| 5. | any single utterance of an actor in the course of a play, motion picture, etc. |
| 6. | the form of utterance characteristic of a particular people or region; a language or dialect. |
| 7. | manner of speaking, as of a person: Your slovenly speech is holding back your career. |
| 8. | a field of study devoted to the theory and practice of oral communication. |
| 9. | Archaic. rumor. |
speech (spēch)
n.
The faculty or act of expressing thoughts, feelings, or perceptions by the articulation of words.
Vocal communication; conversation.