read lips

read (one's) lips

1. Literally, to interpret and understand what one says by observing the shapes of the words they form with their lips. Even though I was speaking very softly, Jill could read my lips and knew exactly what I was saying. I can read your lips, but it will help me if you use sign language as well.
2. To pay close attention and listen very carefully to what one says. Usually said as an imperative. A: "Come on, Mom—can I please go out with my friends?" B: "Read my lips—N O means no!" Read my lips—finish your dinner now, or you won't be getting any dessert!
See also: lip, read
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

read someone's lips

to manage to understand speech by watching and interpreting the movements of the speaker's lips. I couldn't hear her but I could read her lips.
See also: lip, read
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • read (one's) lips
  • read my lips
  • smack (one's) lips
  • lick/smack your lips
  • make any sense (out) of (something)
  • make some sense (out) of (something)
  • make sense (out) of (something)
  • make sense of
  • make sense of something
  • size
References in periodicals archive
I started to stare at people when they talked to me, as I was subconsciously learning to read lips. Lord knows how many times in my life that my hearing impairment affected my relationships with the outside world."
BREAKING the silence: One veteran speaks out about his struggle with the most common service-connected disability, hearing loss
That allowed people who were hearing impaired access to the TV news for the first time without having to read lips.
David Crane pioneered closed captioning
Billy is deaf and has been raised to read lips and speak but without knowledge of sign language.
The week ahead at the theatre
Most of them can also read lips. While some members of the group come to the restaurant for their meals thrice a day, all of them, almost always, gather on Friday evenings.
This restaurant serves as their meeting ground
She is a speech pathologist who was hired to help Wilder on the 1989 film, "Hear No Evil, See No Evil." He plays a deaf man in the film and she was solicited to help him read lips.
7 Fast Facts About Gene Wilder's Wife
She also learned to talk and read lips with her hands.
The week that was; The bloodiest battle began, three legends were born, and the bike spun into action
They may wear hearing aids, read lips, or use sign language with their hands
All kinds of kids! An activity book just for kids
While Schuster can read lips, Kern-Anderson makes it much easier for her to keep up with her peers.
Deaf student teaching lessons on accessibility: Colorado student blazing trails for deaf students who want to work
Although his associate, Alexandria Wailes, could both read lips and sign, he had to learn to communicate with the cast on his own.
Finding the music in silence: Spencer Liff brought dance-like sign language to Spring Awakening
He can read lips so well and he took music lessons when he was young and plays the violin.
Music rose from sound of silence; fit for fame Merrill Osmond tells MARION MCMULLEN how the musical world of the Osmonds began following deafness in the family
Conrad wrote that he knew from previous contacts that Toll could read lips.
Springfield agrees to pay $450,000in police suit
"He learned how to read lips as a toddler; he started signing before he could talk, but once he started talking ...'' Mrs.
Boy receives the gift of hearing; Donation eases Uxbridge family's struggle
And the deaf ones, they read lips. So everyone can hear.
Dart
To make up for the loss, Coleman taught himself how to read lips, using the technique to communicate with his teammates on the field while playing in some of the loudest venues in sports.
Super spirit: this champion overcame hearing impairment to reach his NFL dream
Nevertheless, Manal understands others perfectly well, having been trained to read lips. The fact that she was not born deaf, but could once speak and hear properly, helped Al-Ashwal become proficient in lip reading.
Succeeding with a disability: The story of Manal Al-Ashwal