bespeak

verb

be·​speak bi-ˈspēk 

bē-

bespoke bi-ˈspōk 

bē-

; bespoken bi-ˈspō-kən 

bē-

; bespeaking

transitive verb

1

: to hire, engage, or claim beforehand

2

: to speak to especially with formality : address

3

: request

bespeak a favor

4

a

: indicate, signify

her performance bespeaks considerable practice

b

: to show beforehand : foretell

Synonyms

• book
• reserve

Examples of bespeak in a Sentence

Her newest album bespeaks a great talent for writing songs.

bespoke the rental car weeks in advance of their trip

Recent Examples on the Web

That’s still true in the fully postindustrial parts of the city, though in a way that bespeaks new fissures. —Justin Davidson, Curbed, 21 May 2025

In 1900, the average life expectancy of a 1-year-old in the U.S. was about 56 years; that bespeaks a morbid population of infants. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2025

This building, every inch of it bespeaking Baltimore as much as City Hall, the Patterson Park Pagoda and the H.P. Rawlings Conservatory in Druid Hill Park, seems to live again through Jacques Kelly’s words. —Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 25 May 2025

At the same time, the overwhelming result at least bespeaks equality of access to reproductive-health technology in those countries. —Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1533, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for bespeak

• antique
• batik
• boutique
• cacique
• comique
• critique
• grosbeak
• midweek
• mystique
• oblique
• physique
• pratique

Kids Definition

bespeak

verb

be·​speak bi-ˈspēk 

bespoke -ˈspōk  ; bespoken -ˈspō-kən  ; bespeaking

1

: to ask or arrange for in advance

2

: to make plain : show

her performance bespeaks much practice