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Glite Dictionary
keynote speech

keynote speech

6 4.2
A main talk at a meeting that gives the event's main idea
  • noun
  • /ˈkiːnoʊt spiːch/
translation icon : discurso inaugural
  • Today, the CEO will deliver the keynote speech to open the annual conference on renewable energy.
  • gave the keynote speech

Today is my first keynote speech back in over three years.

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Examples

  • I'm making the keynote speech.

    Diana (2013)

  • I also remember watching Senator Obama deliver that keynote speech in 2004.

    Blog text (16)

  • Today is my first keynote speech back in over three years.

    Molly Burke

  • And every single time I travel and every time I get on a stage to give a keynote speech, I wear that belt.

    Mel Robbins

  • Kirrily Robert gave the first keynote speech this morning, entitled "Standing Out in the Crowd."

    Blog text (11)

  • Zhao has been invited to deliver more than 20 keynote speeches throughout the world.

    Academic text (2007)

  • In just under 30 minutes, President Farrington will stand before the leaders of the world and deliver the keynote speech for the 1998 drug summit.

    Operation Delta Force 3: Clear Target (1998)

  • Hansberry delivered this piece for her keynote speech at the AMSAC conference in 1959.

    Academic text (2017)

  • I've just given one of the keynote speeches at the LOGIN 2009 conference here in Seattle.

    Blog text (16)

  • That's one of the reasons he's been tapped to deliver the coveted keynote speech at next year's SXSW music festival.

    Blog text (32)

Synonyms

speech
vskeynote speech
  • Formal
∞ 1.8

A formal talk given to an audience to inform or persuade

focuses on setting the event's central theme or main message
talk
vskeynote speech
718 1.8

A speech given to an audience

aims instead to introduce the event's central message
address
vskeynote speech
  • Formal
212 5.3

A formal speech given to a group of people

serves to present the event's central theme or main message
keynote address
vskeynote speech
10 4.4

A main speech at a formal event that sets the tone

has identical purpose but differs only in phrasing of the term
oration
vskeynote speech
  • Formal
6 7.6

A formal speech given at a special event

is used instead to declare the gathering's central theme
oral presentation
vskeynote speech
3 3.4

A talk given to a group, often at school or work

is broader, used to introduce the event's overall theme

How Important

keynote speech
6 4.2
to address
  • Formal
236 4.4
speech
  • Formal
∞ 1.8
talk
718 1.8
comment
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

keynote speech singular
keynote speeches plural

Morphology

keynote + speech

The meaning 'the main or principal speech that sets the conference's theme' is directly and compositionally derived from 'keynote' (principal/central theme) + 'speech' (an oral address). This noun+noun construction is transparent and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Keynote speech comes from music: the keynote is the main note that sets the 'key' for a song. So a speech called a keynote sets the main idea or 'tone' for a meeting.