speaking
UK/ˈspiː.kɪŋ//ˈspi.kɪŋ/
speaking adjective: used in speaking. Also the present participle and gerund of speak.
Adjective
speaking (not comparable)
- Used in speaking.
- one's normal speaking voice
- Expressive; eloquent.
- The sight was more speaking than any speech could be.
- There was no reply, save on the speaking countenance.1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XLIV, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 267
- Involving speaking.
- It was her first speaking part: she screamed.
- Having the ability of speech.
- speaking parrot; speaking clock
- Having competence in a language.
- The English-speaking gentleman gave us directions.
- I travel in Russian-speaking countries.
Noun
speaking (countable and uncountable, plural speakings)
- One's ability to communicate vocally in a given language.
- I can read and understand most texts in German, but my speaking is awful.
- The act of communicating vocally.
- Sometimes, a brawl would erupt, as a result, but, in general, public speakings were peaceful events and essential ingredients for election to office.2011, Jimmie W. Greene, Samuel D. Perry, Bridge Builder, page 50
- A speaking exercise or exam.
- An oral recitation of e.g. a story.
Interjection
- Indication that the person requested is the same as the one who is currently speaking.
Also used as
speaking is also the present participle and gerund of speak.
speaking meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam
speaking in Hindi
- बोलते हुए
speaking in Tamil
- பேசுவது
speaking in Telugu
- మాట్లాడటం
speaking in Malayalam
- സംസാരിക്കുന്നു, സംസാരിക്കുന്നത്
More languagesFewer languages
- speaking in Kannada
- ಮಾತನಾಡುತ್ತಾ, ಮಾತಾಡುತ್ತಾ, ಮಾತನಾಡುವುದು
- speaking in Gujarati
- બોલી રહ્યા છે, બોલી રહ્યા છીએ
- speaking in Nepali
- बोल्दा
- speaking in Arabic
- كَلَام kalām, تَكَلُّم takallum, تَحَدُّث taḥadduṯ
- speaking in Malay
- bertutur
- speaking in Indonesian
- berbicara
Examples of speaking in a sentence
- Not all Trekkies go around speaking Klingon and making endless references to the original Star Trek series.
- He was speaking an Arabic that they'd never heard before and could barely understand.
- When (you are) angry, count to ten before speaking or acting.
Antonyms of speaking
Forms of speaking
| plural | speakings |
|---|
Origin of speaking
From Middle English spekinge, spekynge, spekinde, spekende, spekande, spekand, from Old English specende, sprecende (“speaking”), from Proto-Germanic *sprekandz (“speaking”), present participle of Proto-Germanic *sprekaną (“to speak”). Equivalent to speak + -ing. Cognate with Scots speikand, speikin (“speaking”), Saterland Frisian spreekend (“speaking”), West Frisian sprekkend (“speaking”), Dutch sprekend (“speaking”), German Low German sprekend (“speaking”), German sprechend (“speaking”).
From Middle English speking, spekynge, equivalent to speak + -ing.
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Words formed from speaking
Phrases with speaking
- speaking of
- speaking to
- speaking up
- speaking for
- speaking out
- speaking tube
- speaking clock
- speaking terms
- speaking tubes
- speaking voice
- public speaking
- speaking clocks
35 more phrasesFewer phrases
- speaking highly
- speaking ill of
- broadly speaking
- roughly speaking
- speaking down to
- speaking trumpet
- speaking volumes
- speaking well of
- on speaking terms
- speaking in terms
- speaking too soon
- speaking trumpets
- strictly speaking
- generally speaking
- speaking in circles
- speaking in dollars
- speaking in tongues
- speaking objections
- speaking one's mind
- in a way of speaking
- speaking for oneself
- speaking like a book
- speaking as one finds
- speaking with tongues
- in a manner of speaking
- like speaking to a wall
- speaking truth to power
- speaking one's conscience
- gave someone a speaking to
- give someone a speaking to
- gives someone a speaking to
- speaking someone's language
- giving someone a speaking to
- like speaking to a brick wall
- speaking with a forked tongue
Words that rhyme with speaking
Questions about speaking
- What does speaking mean?
- Speaking means used in speaking.
- What is speaking in Hindi?
- Speaking in Hindi is बोलते हुए. See Speaking meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is speaking?
- Speaking can be an adjective, a noun or an interjection.
- How do you pronounce speaking?
- Speaking is pronounced /ˈspiː.kɪŋ/ (UK).
Words near speaking in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: speaking (page history and authors); speaking (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); speaking (Tamil, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); speaking (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); speaking (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); speaking (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); speaking (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); speaking (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-speaking.ogg.
Cite this entry: “speaking.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/speaking. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.