speaker

noun

speak·​er ˈspē-kər How to pronounce speaker (audio)
1
a
: one that speaks
especially : one who uses a language
native speakers of French
b
: one who makes a public speech
c
: one who acts as a spokesperson
2
: the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly
Speaker of the House of Representatives
3
speakership noun

Examples of speaker in a Sentence

I disagree with the last speaker. He is an excellent public speaker.
Recent Examples on the Web With over 60 conference sessions and more than 150 expert speakers, the event’s ninth edition remains free to attend for industry professionals and embraces the increasing convergence of all screen sectors, gathering thousands of attendees across film, TV, advertising, animation, games and XR. Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 24 Nov. 2023 With a faster processor, the speaker also receives software updates for longer. Louryn Strampe, WIRED, 23 Nov. 2023 Although the new committee chairs reflect a diversity of backgrounds, the speaker’s core leadership team no longer includes any Black Assembly members with the removal of Bryan as majority leader. Mackenzie Mays, Los Angeles Times, 22 Nov. 2023 Late Friday afternoon, House speaker Mike Johnson released a ton of boring surveillance footage of the Capitol complex taken on January 6, 2021. Noah Rothman, National Review, 20 Nov. 2023 Following McCarthy's October ouster after nine months as speaker and the subsequent election of the relatively unknown Johnson, Republicans worried about fundraising ability, especially ahead of pivotal elections in 2024. Julia Johnson, Washington Examiner, 20 Nov. 2023 Now, a new House speaker has only days to get a funding bill passed. Josh Feldman, NBC News, 12 Nov. 2023 Moody’s cited a string of recent red flags, including brinkmanship over the debt limit, the ouster of the House speaker and rising threats of another government shutdown. Abha Bhattarai, Washington Post, 10 Nov. 2023 Fill it with couches, bean bags, cushions, a TV, board games, and a Bluetooth speaker. Dominique Fluker, Essence, 9 Nov. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'speaker.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of speaker was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near speaker

Cite this Entry

“Speaker.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/speaker. Accessed 2 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

speaker

noun
speak·​er ˈspē-kər How to pronounce speaker (audio)
1
: a person who speaks
2
: a person who conducts a meeting (as of a legislature)
3

Legal Definition

speaker

noun
speak·​er
often capitalized
: the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly
Speaker of the House

More from Merriam-Webster on speaker

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