read lips

idiom

: to understand what people are saying by watching the movement of their lips

deaf people who know how to read lips

I couldn't hear him, but I read his lips.

Examples of read lips in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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The Diary Room was extra tricky because unlike with his interactions with the other contestants, Matt could not simply read lips since producers are heard but not seen. —

Dalton Ross, EW.com, 16 Aug. 2023 The couple speaks mostly via text, as Sheila is still learning ASL — and David can’t read lips or speak. —

Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 2 June 2023 One of the worst offenders in recent memory: the second floor of Petite Cerise, where my party read lips through an 85-decibel dinner — the equivalent of eating to the accompaniment of a garbage disposal. —

Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 17 May 2023 The couple speaks mostly via text, as Sheila is still learning ASL — and David can’t read lips or speak. —

Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 2 June 2023 See all Example Sentences for read lips