(~es)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
Speech is the ability to speak or the act of speaking.
...the development of ~ in children...
...a ~ therapist specialising in stammering.
N-UNCOUNT
2.
Your ~ is the way in which you speak.
His ~ became increasingly thick and nasal...
I’d make fun of her dress and imitate her ~.
N-SING: usu poss N
3.
Speech is spoken language.
...the way common letter clusters are usually pronounced in ~.
N-UNCOUNT
4.
A ~ is a formal talk which someone gives to an audience.
She is due to make a ~ on the economy next week...
He delivered his ~ in French.
...a dramatic resignation ~.
N-COUNT
5.
A ~ is a group of lines spoken by a character in a play.
...the hilarious ~ from Alan Bennett’s ‘Forty Years On’.
N-COUNT
6.
see also direct ~ , figure of ~ , indirect ~ , maiden ~ , part of ~ , reported ~