/ spiːtʃ; NAmE / noun
1.
[ C ] speech (on / about sth) a formal talk that a person gives to an audience :
to give / make / deliver a speech on human rights
He made the announcement in a speech on television.
Several people made speeches at the wedding.
2.
[ U ] the ability to speak :
I seemed to have lost the power of speech .
a speech defect
freedom of speech (= the right to say openly what you think)
3.
[ U ] the way in which a particular person speaks :
Her speech was slurred—she was clearly drunk.
4.
[ U ] the language used when speaking :
This expression is used mainly in speech, not in writing.
speech sounds
5.
[ C ] a group of lines that an actor speaks in a play in the theatre :
She has the longest speech in the play.
—see also figure of speech
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SYNONYMS
speech
lecture ♦ address ♦ talk ♦ sermon
These are all words for a talk given to an audience.
speech
a formal talk given to an audience:
Several people made speeches at the wedding.
lecture
a talk given to a group of people to tell them about a particular subject, often as part of a university or college course:
a lecture on the Roman army
•
a course / series of lectures
address
a formal speech given to an audience:
a televised presidential address
speech or address?
A speech can be given on a public or private occasion; an address is always public: He gave an address at the wedding.
talk
a fairly informal session in which sb tells a group of people about a subject:
She gave an interesting talk on her visit to China.
sermon
a talk on a moral or religious subject, usually given by a religious leader during a service
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
to give / deliver a(n) speech / lecture / address / talk / sermon
to preach a sermon
to attend / go to a lecture / talk
to write / prepare a(n) speech / lecture / address / talk / sermon
a long / lengthy / brief / short speech / lecture / address / talk / sermon
a keynote speech / lecture / address / talk
a(n) opening / closing speech / lecture / address / talk
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English sprǣc , sprēc , later spēc , of West Germanic origin: related to Dutch spraak , German Sprache , also to speak .