mouth

noun, often attributive

\ ˈmau̇th

plural mouths\ ˈmau̇t͟hz

also ˈmau̇z, ˈmau̇ths ; in synecdochic compounds like "blabbermouths" ths more frequently

Definition of mouth

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : the natural opening through which food passes into the body of an animal and which in vertebrates is typically bounded externally by the lips and internally by the pharynx and encloses the tongue, gums, and teeth

b : grimace made a mouth

c : an individual requiring food had too many mouths to feed

2a : voice, speech finally gave mouth to her feelings

b : mouthpiece sense 3a he is the mouth … of the House in its relations with the Crown— T. E. May

c(1) : a tendency to excessive talk he is not all mouth … he gets results — Time

(2) : saucy or disrespectful language : impudence just don't take any mouth from him— Jackson Burgess

3 : something that resembles a mouth especially in affording entrance or exit: such as

a : the place where a stream enters a larger body of water

b : the surface opening of an underground cavity (see cavity sense 1) the mouth of a well the mouth of a volcano

c : the opening of a container the mouth of a bottle

d : an opening in the side of an organ flue pipe

down in the mouth

: dejected, sulky

mouth

verb

\ ˈmau̇t͟h

also ˈmau̇th

mouthed; mouthing; mouths

Definition of mouth (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : speak, pronounce

b : to utter bombastically : declaim

c : to repeat without comprehension or sincerity always mouthing platitudes

d : to form soundlessly with the lips the librarian mouthed the word "quiet"

e : to utter indistinctly : mumble mouthed his words

2 : to take into the mouth especially : eat

intransitive verb

1a : to talk pompously : rant —often used with off

b : to talk insolently or impudently —usually used with off

2 : to move the mouth especially so as to make faces

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Synonyms for mouth

Synonyms: Noun

chops, gob [chiefly British], kisser [slang], mug, piehole [slang], trap [slang], yap [slang]

Synonyms: Verb

grimace, mug

Examples of mouth in a Sentence

Noun

He kissed her on the mouth. He threatened to punch me in the mouth. She stood there with her mouth agape. I burned the roof of my mouth. They told him to keep his mouth closed when chewing and not to talk with his mouth full. He wiped his mouth with a napkin after eating. She regretted saying it as soon as the words were out of her mouth. The smell of the food made my mouth water. The candy melts in your mouth. The medication is taken by mouth.

Verb

She was just mouthing the usual meaningless platitudes about the need for reform. silently mouthing the words to a song

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Another good example: A table tennis player in Egypt, Ibrahim Hamato, who lost both arms in an accident as a child, plays competitive table tennis by gripping the paddle in his mouth. — Jenny Mccoy, SELF, "A Look Inside the Challenging and Misunderstood Sport of Table Tennis," 9 Jan. 2019 Tannat plays into that playbook with its deep color, firm tannins, jolt of spice and mouth-filling fruit. — Mike Dunne, sacbee, "Shenandoah Valley’s newest winery Paul J. Wines recognizes the old," 4 July 2018 Falcone said so far most of the advertising for the market has been through word-of-mouth and social media. — Carrie Napoleon, Daily Southtown, "Highland tunes up Midweek Farmers Market offerings," 9 June 2018 Apply one shade all over your mouth, and then dot-and-blend a lighter color in the middle of your lips. — Seventeen.com Editors, Seventeen, "50 Life-Changing Prom Beauty Tips You Haven't Heard Before," 19 Dec. 2018 Rather than just shovel whatever the hell in their mouth. — Eric Johnson, Recode, "Why Sweetgreen thinks like a tech company," 17 Dec. 2018 My brother covered his mouth as if to cough, and once more gave it the old college try. — Mike Kerrigan, WSJ, "My Brother the Car Horn," 27 Nov. 2018 That’s what happens in vaginal yeast infections, for instance, and also in infections that bloom in the mouth and throat or bloodstream when the immune system breaks down. — Maryn Mckenna, WIRED, "The Strange and Curious Case of the Deadly Superbug Yeast," 13 July 2018 The suspect was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt featuring a large Nike swoosh logo, tan cargo shorts, white sneakers, and a black mask that covered his mouth and nose, according to police. — Danny Mcdonald, BostonGlobe.com, "Somerville police investigate armed robbery of convenience store," 5 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Flanked by members of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, Mr. Trump placed his right hand over his heart, just below an American flag pin on his lapel, and mouthed the words while the Zac Brown Band sang the anthem. — Alan Blinder And Michael D. Shear, New York Times, "Trump Takes Field at College Football Championship Game," 8 Jan. 2018 But Trump’s dysfunctional White House team began mouthing off in ways guaranteed to sabotage the summit. — Trudy Rubin, Philly.com, "North Korea meeting canceled thanks to Trump team's bluster | Trudy Rubin," 24 May 2018 Then Gingrich had wasted no time in bad-mouthing the deal. — Neil Swidey, BostonGlobe.com, "How Democrats would be better off if Bill Clinton had never been president," 10 July 2018 Another memorable moment in the video comes at the 2:23 mark when Grande stops singing and begins to mouth along to Madonna's reading of Samuel L. Jackson's speech from the 1994 film Pulp Fiction. — Katherine Schaffstall, The Hollywood Reporter, "Ariana Grande Puts Feminist Spin on Religious Imagery in "God is a Woman" Music Video," 13 July 2018 Ganim accused Lamont of bad-mouthing Hartford, which Lamont said was another misrepresentation by his opponent. — Neil Vigdor, courant.com, "Rival Democrats Ned Lamont And Joe Ganim Exchange Barbs In Raucous Debate," 12 July 2018 David spent his time bad-mouthing Jordan, while Jordan spent his time claiming that David was just a liar. — Melissa Locker, Time, "The Bachelorette Recap: Wayne Newton and a Two-On-One Date Make Vegas Memorable," 26 June 2018 There was name-calling at Marshall; their center [mouthed] racial epithets on the floor. — Mike Klingaman, baltimoresun.com, "Catching up with ... former Loyola Chicago and Bullets player Les Hunter," 30 Mar. 2018 While Trump can mouth the classic populist tropes about a globalist elite undermining the common people, there’s very little space in Trumpism for the masses gaining agency through political action. — Jeet Heer, The New Republic, "Faux-populism in Duluth.," 21 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mouth.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near mouth

Statistics for mouth

Last Updated

17 Jan 2019

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Time Traveler for mouth

The first known use of mouth was before the 12th century

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More Definitions for mouth

mouth

noun

English Language Learners Definition of mouth

(Entry 1 of 2)

: the opening through which food passes into the body : the part of the face that includes the lips and the opening behind them

: an opening in something

: the place where a river enters the ocean

mouth

verb

English Language Learners Definition of mouth (Entry 2 of 2)

: to say or repeat (something) without really meaning it or understanding it

: to form (words) with your lips without speaking

See the full definition for mouth in the English Language Learners Dictionary

mouth

noun

\ ˈmau̇th

plural mouths\ ˈmau̇t͟hz, ˈmau̇ths \

Kids Definition of mouth

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : the opening through which food passes into the body and which in humans is surrounded on the outside by the lips and contains the tongue and teeth

2 : an opening that is like a mouth There was a butcher who worked in the mouth of a narrow alley.— Laurence Yep, Dragonwings

3 : the place where a stream enters a larger body of water

mouth

verb

\ ˈmau̇t͟h

mouthed; mouthing

Kids Definition of mouth (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : to form with the lips without speaking The librarian mouthed “quiet.”

2 : to repeat without being sincere or without understanding Salesmen mouthed meaningless slogans.

mouth

noun

\ ˈmau̇th

plural mouths\ ˈmau̇t͟hz

Medical Definition of mouth

: the natural opening through which food passes into the animal body and which in vertebrates is typically bounded externally by the lips and internally by the pharynx and encloses the tongue, gums, and teeth