What Does "Read Lips" Mean?
"Read lips" is an English idiom. It means "to understand what someone is saying by watching their lip movements, often when audio is unavailable or unclear."Examples in Sentences
Here are three examples of the idiom "read lips" used in a sentence:- He learned to read lips as a means of communication when his hearing began to deteriorate.
- In noisy environments, she relied on her ability to read lips to understand conversations.
- The detective could read lips, which proved useful during undercover operations.
What Is an Idiom?
An idiom is a commonly used expression whose meaning does not relate to the literal meaning of its words. In other words, if you were to translate "Read Lips" word for word, there is no guarantee the translation would help you to understand the meaning.An idiom often includes a cultural or historical context that makes it difficult for non-native English speakers to understand. A phrase is classified as an idiom when a direct translation of the words does not reveal the meaning. Most idioms rely on shared knowledge or experiences known only to a specific community.
A Quick Test
You now know what "read lips" means, but are you good at English idioms? Let's see!
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