Speaker Meaning
/ˈspikɚ/Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounOne who speaks.
nounLoudspeaker.
Sentence Examples
Each speaker was allotted five minutes.
Being a good conversationalist does not just mean being a good speaker of English.
He was a guest speaker at the conference.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The keynote ____ gave a passionate talk about climate change to the audience.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The sound quality of the new Bluetooth ____ is impressive, with deep bass and very clear highs.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English speker, spekere, an alteration (with change of suffix) of Old English speca, spreca (“speaker”), from Proto-Germanic *sprekô (“speaker”), equivalent to speak + -er. Compare Saterland Frisian Spreeker (“speaker”), West Frisian sprekker (“speaker”), Dutch spreker (“speaker”), German Low German Spreker (“speaker”), German Sprecher (“speaker”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"This title is derived from the first verse of the book (1.1), which is a heading or colophon informing the reader who this Qoheleth was: he was the author of the book, or at least the speaker of the words which are contained in it ..."
— 1989, R. Norman Whybray, Ecclesiastes, A&C Black, →ISBN, page 15:
"As [David] Bellos points out, those born as English speakers are now a minority of English speakers: most speak it as a second language. English is the world’s biggest interlanguage."
— 2011 October 28, Adam Thirlwell, “The Joyful Side of Translation”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 12 Nov 2020:
"Each written word when spoken is mutually incomprehensible between a Mandarin speaker in Beijing and a Cantonese speaker in Hong Kong. If you think that’s odd, consider our number system: the symbol “9” is universally recognized but it’s pronounced “nine” in English and “devet” in Slovenian."
— 2021 April 25, John Malathronas, “Which languages are easiest – and most difficult – for native English speakers to learn?”, in CNN, archived from the original on 22 Mar 2022:
"The speaker spelled out the words to be communicated, letter by letter, while the reader's hand read the speaker's message. In its original form the hand alphabet assumed that both speaker and reader could already speak and spell the words ..."
— 2002, Merlin Donald, A Mind So Rare: The Evolution of Human Consciousness, W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN, page 242:
"With a speäker, or stake, he tossed the outlying scraps of fuel on the into the conflagration."
— 1878, Thomas Hardy, The Return of the Native, page 18:
Explore More A1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The keynote ____ gave a passionate talk about climate change to the audience.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The sound quality of the new Bluetooth ____ is impressive, with deep bass and very clear highs.