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to lip-read

to lip-read

4 7.2
Understand what someone says by looking at their mouth
  • verb
  • /ˈlɪpˌrɛd/
translation icon : leer los labios
  • She is learning to lip-read so she can understand her friends better.
  • lip-reading and sign language

Examples

  • She's learning to speak and lip-read.

  • Where'd you learn to lip read?

  • How many kids do you know that can speak two languages and lip read, huh?

  • "Well, actually, no, but I would advise him to learn to lip read."

  • Ask if they need to lip-read.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Deaf parents were not opposed to the development of oral language or lip reading skills; some valued it highly.

    Academic text (2014)
  • Although he was competent at lip-reading and sign language, he said, "Communication is very important, and English is my first language."

    Academic text (2005)
  • Right now she speaks and lip-reads.

    Blog text (23)
  • Babies appear to lip-read as part of language acquisition.

    Blog text (19)
  • A few players wear hearing aids, and instructors must remember to face them when speaking to facilitate lip reading.

    Academic text (1997)

Synonyms

to read lips
vsto lip-read
11 5.7

To understand what someone says by watching their lips

is mainly used by people who cannot hear not only when sound is missing
to lipread
vsto lip-read
8.4

To understand what someone says by watching their lips

is the hyphenated written form of the same visual understanding method
to speech-read
vsto lip-read
  • UK
9.1

To understand what someone says by watching their lips, face, and tongue movements

focuses only on the speaker's mouth movements rather than full face or tongue cues

How Accurate

to understand
1.0
to lip-read
4 7.2
to guess
1.0

Surface Forms

lip-read infinitive
lip-reading present participle
lip-reads third person singular
lip-read past
lip-read past participle

Morphology

lip-read = lip + read (transparent) = lip + read

The verb is a clear compound of 'lip' + 'read' meaning to 'read' (interpret) the 'lips', which is directly inferable by learners.

Etymology

Lip-read joins lip and read. It means to 'read' someone's lips — to look at mouth movements and understand spoken words, just like reading a page.