mouth

1 of 2

noun

plural mouths ˈmau̇t͟hz How to pronounce mouth (audio)
also
ˈmau̇z How to pronounce mouth (audio) ˈmau̇ths How to pronounce mouth (audio)
 in synecdochic compounds like "blabbermouths"  is more frequent ˈmau̇ths
often attributive
1
a
: 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
2
a
: voice, speech
finally gave mouth to her feelings
b
: mouthpiece sense 3a
he is the mouth … of the House in its relations with the CrownT. E. May
c(1)
: a tendency to excessive talk
he is not all mouth … he gets resultsTime
(2)
: saucy or disrespectful language : impudence
just don't take any mouth from himJackson 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
mouthlike adjective

mouth

2 of 2

verb

mouthed; mouthing; mouths

transitive verb

1
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

1
a
: 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
mouther noun
Phrases
down in the mouth

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
With a decisive movement of his napkin, V. wiped his mouth. Joseph O’Neill, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 There was surprise in the room and even on stage: Jennifer Lawrence, one of the presenters, lifted her hands to her mouth in shock as Michelle Yeoh read Stone’s name. Greg Braxton, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2024 A couple of months ago, Steve grabbed my face with both hands and kissed me full on the mouth. Amy Dickinson, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024 Thicker toothpaste can mean less spilling and dripping out of the mouth for little ones. Jessica Booth, Parents, 10 Mar. 2024 But back in the Mesozoic, toothed little mouths were the norm. Ashley Strickland, CNN, 8 Mar. 2024 During this stretch since the All-Star break, Martin also turned his ankle and received six stitches after getting hit in the mouth while playing with a wrap around his left thumb after hurting it last week. Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 2024 Judging from the photographs, the deer’s mouth looks unusual as well. Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 7 Mar. 2024 Fritz snuggled up beside his mom and opened his tiny mouth for pieces of lettuce. The Enquirer, 5 Mar. 2024
Verb
Each kit has several toys kids can mouth and grasp that are intended to help foster development. Taryn Mohrman, wsj.com, 8 Dec. 2023 Swift was on the other side of the camera as the Chiefs player turned away from the audience to mouth the lyrics to her off-screen. Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 12 Feb. 2024 By trying to mouth out the words that code for each letter of the Roman alphabet, a paralyzed patient could spell out any word that popped into their head, stringing those words together to communicate in full sentences. Marla Broadfoot, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 May 2023 To maintain the movie’s enigmatic air, Alegria’s talking animals don’t sing in a simplistic anthropomorphic manner — their lips don’t mouth words. Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 25 May 2023 Big fish, say a 2-pound female, will mouth it gently without moving. Bill Heavey, Field & Stream, 3 May 2023 For example, during play, dogs do not deliver bites at full force, and a larger dog might roll over to allow a smaller dog to jump on or mouth it. Julie Hecht, Scientific American, 1 May 2017 The New York stretch adds a pair of colleagues, played by Molly Webster (a radio veteran in real life known for her work with WNYC’s Radiolab) and comedian Jaboukie Young-White, who add more flavors to the mix: good humor, patience, and extra pairs of ears for Jesse to mouth off to. K. Austin Collins, Rolling Stone, 22 Nov. 2021 Worse, too many people in power in those countries don’t really care about these values either, other than to mouth the rhetoric of American democracy to secure massive amounts of money and materiel, which in turn fuels massive amounts of corruption, both political and societal. Karl Marlantes, Time, 26 Aug. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mouth.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, going back to Old English mūþ, going back to Germanic *munþa- (whence also Old Frisian mūth, mund "mouth," Old Saxon mūth, Middle Dutch mont, Old High German munt, Old Icelandic munnr, Gothic munþs), going back to dialectal Indo-European *mn̥t-, whence also Welsh mant "mouth, jaw, mandible," Latin mentum "chin"

Note: This etymon is limited to Celtic, Italic, and Germanic, though a relation with Hittite mēni-, mēna- "face, cheek" has also been suggested. The form *mn̥t- has been taken as a verbal adjective of the base *men- (or *min-) seen in Latin ēminēre "to stick out, protrude," but apparently nowhere else in Indo-European (see minatory).

Verb

Middle English mouthen, derivative of mouth mouth entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

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

Dictionary Entries Near mouth

Cite this Entry

“Mouth.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mouth. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

mouth

1 of 2 noun
plural mouths ˈmau̇t͟hz How to pronounce mouth (audio)
also
ˈmau̇ths How to pronounce mouth (audio)
1
: the opening through which food passes into the body of an animal and which in vertebrates is typically surrounded on the outside by the lips and encloses the tongue, gums, and teeth
2
: grimace
make a mouth
3
: an opening that is like a mouth
the mouth of a cave
the mouth of a container
4
: the place where a stream enters a larger body of water

mouth

2 of 2 verb
1
a
: to speak or utter especially proudly or loudly : declaim
b
: to repeat without belief or understanding
mouth empty phrases
2
a
: to form with the lips without speaking
the librarian mouthed "quiet"
3
: to take into the mouth
mouther noun

Medical Definition

mouth

noun
plural mouths ˈmau̇t͟hz How to pronounce mouth (audio)
: 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

More from Merriam-Webster on mouth

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