From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishspeak for phrasal verb1 REPRESENT speak for somebody/something to express the feelings, thoughts, or beliefs of a person or group of people Dan, speaking for the students, started the meeting.2 speak for yourself spokenSAY/STATE used to tell someone that you do not have the same opinion as they do, or that something that is true for them is not true for you ‘We don’t want to go.’ ‘Speak for yourself!’3 be spoken forOWN if something or someone is spoken for, they have already been promised to someone else They’re all either married or spoken for.4 speak for itself/themselvesOBVIOUS to show something very clearly The results speak for themselves. → speak→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
speak for• Director Mike Newell creates the atmosphere and wisely allows the surrounding beauty to speak for itself.• That way round the guitar's reputation literally speaks for itself.• The account mainly speaks for itself.• They have been left to speak for themselves as rites, as works of art through the eyes to the listening heart.• The benefits speak for themselves, but it does have its downside.• Let these facts speak for themselves: By the time Barbie was invented, I was too old for dolls.• The confirmation numbers speak for themselves.• To be an employed, married mum is quite an achievement and I think I speak for us all.speak for yourself• That rather speaks for itself. 6.• "We're not interested in going to the game." "Hey, speak for yourself."• In this oracular role, though, she does not speak for herself.• Nevertheless, this is an ultimately inspiring study of prisoners speaking for themselves.• The alacrity with which northerners enlisted for military service whenever warfare flared up on the Border speaks for itself.• The arrangement seemed to speak for itself: Alice, the true love.• Let these facts speak for themselves: By the time Barbie was invented, I was too old for dolls.• Yet the belief that a videotape somehow speaks for itself persisted.• Facts should normally be allowed to speak for themselves: to spell out a conclusion may spell danger.be spoken for• But all of the money is spoken for.• Contest ends when all tickets are spoken for.• Most of your capital is spoken for, and the creditors are closing in.• Though they were spoken for my benefit, I could not be assumed to share the same norms.• When the words were spoken for the third time, however, the divorce was irrevocable.speak for itself/themselves• He's a good coach - his success speaks for itself.• Again, we begin by letting the managers speak for themselves.• But the history of the family speaks for itself.• I think the above account speaks for itself.• Kahn believed that his work spoke for itself.• The account mainly speaks for itself.• They simply put it out and let the music speak for itself.• The arrangement seemed to speak for itself: Alice, the true love.• Yet the belief that a videotape somehow speaks for itself persisted. 