speak

verb

1. (intransitive)To communicate with one's voice, to say words out loud.

   “And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes. He said that if you wanted to do anything for them, you must rule them, not pamper them.”

   “I was so surprised I couldn't speak.”

   “You're speaking too fast.”

2. (intransitive, reciprocal)To have a conversation.

   “It's been ages since we've spoken.”

3. (broadly)To communicate or converse by some means other than orally, such as writing or facial expressions.

   “He spoke of it in his diary.”

   “Speak to me only with your eyes.”

   “Actions speak louder than words.”

   “Then said the gods, making the signs of the gods and speaking with Their hands lest the silence of Pegāna should blush; then said the gods to one another, speaking with Their hands: “Let Us make worlds to amuse Ourselves while Māna rests. Let Us make worlds and Life and Death, and colours in the sky; only let Us not break the silence upon Pegāna.””

   “The deed will speak the truth In language strict and pure. I stop the lying mouth: Rage warps my clearest cry To witless agony.”

4. (intransitive)To deliver a message to a group; to deliver a speech.

   “This evening I shall speak on the topic of correct English usage.”

5. (stative, transitive)To be able to communicate in a language.

   “He speaks Mandarin fluently.”

6. (broadly, stative, transitive)To be able to communicate in a language.

   “Even those who did 'speak computer' did so sometimes in a less than fluent way which required a jump to be made from a press-the-right-button stage to having the confidence to experiment.”

7. (transitive)To utter.

   “And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.”

   “I was so surprised that I couldn't speak a word.”

8. (transitive)To communicate (some fact or feeling); to bespeak, to indicate.

   “Their behaviour to each other speaks the most cordial confidence and happiness.”

   “There he sat, his very indifference speaking a nature in which there lurked no civilized hypocrisies and bland deceits.”

9. (humorous, informal, sometimes, transitive)To understand (as though it were a language).

   “Sorry, I don't speak idiot.”

   “So you can program in C. But do you speak C++?”

10. (intransitive)To produce a sound; to sound.

    “Make all our trumpets speak.”

11. Of a bird, to be able to vocally reproduce words or phrases from a human language.

    “Miles tremblingly confessed that it had, but to no purpose; a parrot being able to speak better in three weeks than a brazen head.”

12. (archaic, transitive)To address; to accost; to speak to.

    “[He will] thee in hope; he will speak thee fair.”

    “Each village senior paused to scan / And speak the lovely caravan.”

    “Spoke the ship Union of Newport, without any anchor. The next day ran down to Acra, where the windlass was again capsized and the pawls broken.”

noun

1. (uncountable)Language, jargon, or terminology used uniquely in a particular environment or group.

   “corporate speak; IT speak”

   “We'll go into more depth with all the specs shortly so anyone less well versed in espresso speak will understand what I'm harping on about, but firstly let's just talk about using the machine.”

   “There's a little corporate speak going on here, don't get me wrong. Assassin's Creed gets described as "more than a game" and "a platform for meaningful exploration and reflection wrapped in the excitement of unforgettable gameplay"—which is executive babble, let's be honest.”

2. (countable)Speech, conversation.
3. (abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, countable, informal)Clipping of speaker point.

   “We will deduct speaks for hesitation.”

4. (dated)a low class bar, a speakeasy.