What does speech mean in English?

You can learn speech Pronunciation, Grammar & Synonyms in this most authoritative English Dictionary.

speech Meaning, Definition, Pronunciation, Grammar & Synonyms❤️

0 the ability to talk, the activity of talking, or a piece of spoken language:
- Children usually develop speech in the second year of life.
- People who suffer a stroke may experience a loss of speech.
- His speech was slurred and I thought he was drunk.
- Some expressions are used more in speech than in writing.
- Do you know the words to Hamlet's famous speech at the beginning of Act III?
1 a formal talk given usually to a large number of people on a special occasion:
- I had to give/make a speech at my brother's wedding.
- The Governor of New York delivered a rousing speech to the national convention.
- He gave the after-dinner speech (= a talk given after a formal evening meal at which a large number of people are present).
- Did you hear her acceptance speech at the Oscars ceremony?
2 the ability to talk, or the activity of talking:
- People who suffer a stroke may experience a loss of speech.
- His speech became slurred and indistinct.
- Some expressions are used more in speech than in writing.
3 a formal talk given usually to a large number of people on a special occasion:
- an acceptance speech
- I’m nervous about the speech I’m making tomorrow.

She suffers from a speech defect.
From her slow, deliberate speech I guessed she must be drunk.
Freedom of speech and freedom of thought were both denied under the dictatorship.
As a child, she had some speech problems.
We use these aids to develop speech in small children.
Her speech was received with cheers and a standing ovation.
She closed the meeting with a short speech.
The vicar's forgetting his lines in the middle of the speech provided some good comedy.

0 Speech into writing

Both speech and writing can be formal or informal. Whether language is formal or informal depends on who our readers and listeners are, for what purpose we use the language and the situation in which we use it. For example, an official notice would be written in formal English, whereas the same information would be more commonly written informally by an individual in a less public situation: