The Hebrew noun דבר (dāvār, with the Hebrew letter "bet" pronounced like a "v") is the word for "word" or "speech." Preceding the construction of the Tower of Babel, Genesis uses דבר (dāvār) to describe the unified "words" of the earth's population as seen in Genesis 11:1, "Now the whole earth had one language and the same words (דבר׳ם)."
דבר (dāvār) can also be used in a less definite manner to refer to "things" as occurs in Jeremiah 32:27, "See, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything (דבר) too hard for me?" The variable nature of דבר (dāvār) can sometimes mean multiple uses will appear in quick succession drawing upon different meanings, relying on the reader to distinguish its purpose and associated meaning as seen in Genesis 15:1 which states, "After these things (הדבר׳ם) the word (דבר) of the LORD came to Abram in a vision."
The noun דבר (dāvār) has a related verb, also taking the form דבר (dāvar), which is used to convey the act of speaking. Exodus 9:1 uses the verbal form of דבר (dāvar) to convey future "speech" when it states, "Go to Pharaoh, and say (ודברת) to him."