lipreading

noun

lip·​read·​ing ˈlip-ˌrē-diŋ 

: the interpreting of speech by watching the speaker's lip and facial movements without hearing the voice

Examples of lipreading in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Instead, the completion was delayed, first for technical reasons (because of faulty sound recording, much of the dialogue had to be deciphered by means of lipreading) and then by conflicts over the edit, which led to the film switching producers and losing its distributor. —Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 5 May 2022

King, if Arnold’s lipreading was correct, followed orders and locked in on Stewart who broke into the end zone only to plant and break back to the front pylon. —Michael Casagrande | [e-mail], al, 9 Oct. 2022

Of course, this is based on a lipreading, so take it with a grain of salt. —Kayleigh Roberts, Marie Claire, 10 June 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1874, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

lipreading

noun

lip·​read·​ing

-ˌrēd-iŋ

: the getting of the meaning of a speaker's words without hearing the voice by watching lip and face movements

Medical Definition

lipreading

noun

lip·​read·​ing -ˌrēd-iŋ 

: the interpreting of spoken words by watching the speaker's lip and facial movements without hearing the voice