mouth

noun, often attributive

\ ˈmau̇th

How to pronounce mouth (audio)

\

plural mouths\ ˈmau̇t͟hz

How to pronounce mouths (audio)

also ˈmau̇z

How to pronounce mouths (audio)

, ˈmau̇ths

How to pronounce mouths (audio)

; in synecdochic compounds like "blabbermouths" ˈmau̇ths is more frequent \

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

\ ˈmau̇t͟h

How to pronounce mouth (audio)

also ˈmau̇th

How to pronounce mouth (audio)

\

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

Other Words from mouth Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about mouth

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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 Clip eyes and mouths out of magazines and stick them on small pumpkins and gourds with glue dots to make mini pumpkin faces. — Katie Kretschmer, Woman's Day, "Short Cuts Pumpkin," 9 Sep. 2019 Hadid rocked a dungaree jumpsuit with a bucket hat, and had a toothpick in her mouth for an edgier look. — Amy Mackelden, Harper's BAZAAR, "Irina Shayk and Gigi Hadid Had a Moment at Jeremy Scott's NYFW Show," 7 Sep. 2019 As long as the photo shows the applicant’s eyes, nose and mouth without shadow or obstruction, what’s the difference? — Eric Zorn, chicagotribune.com, "Column: Muslim woman’s lawsuit proves it’s time to stop the nonsense and end anti-headgear rules for driver’s licenses," 5 Sep. 2019 Sylvester Stallone also posted a deepfake of his recognizable eyes, nose and mouth on the Terminator's body. — Carly Mallenbaum, USA TODAY, "Bill Hader has NOT seen those deepfake videos he's in: 'It's a weird technology, man'," 2 Sep. 2019 According to the lawsuit, nurses failed to provide the newborn with basic postdelivery medical care: The baby was not warmed after delivery, mucus was not cleared from his nose or mouth, and no clamps were available to sever the umbilical cord. — Mariel Padilla, BostonGlobe.com, "Woman gave birth in Denver jail cell alone, lawsuit says," 1 Sep. 2019 In the second incident, the sloth burned his entire face and had swelling around his eyes, nose, mouth and lips. — Kieran Nicholson, The Denver Post, "Misdemeanor animal cruelty case involving SeaQuest sloth named Flash on tap in Jefferson County," 30 Aug. 2019 Still, despite what their past issues have been, Lovato doesn't want words put in her mouth. — Julyssa Lopez, Glamour, "Demi Lovato Just Responded to Claims She Shaded Taylor Swift by Skipping the VMAs," 28 Aug. 2019 Measles is described by county health officials as a vaccine-preventable viral illness that's spread through coughing, sneezing and contact with secretions from the nose, mouth, and throat of an infected person. — Chelsea Curtis, azcentral, "Measles exposure suspected from participant at Phoenix hip-hop event, health officials say," 23 Aug. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb The baby will nurse for a while but at 4 weeks he was observed already mouthing bits of fruits and vegetables, DeLanty said. — Meg Jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Adorable baby snow monkey is born at Milwaukee zoo; first healthy birth in 26 years," 20 June 2019 Rexha could be seen mouthing as Cabello and Mendes nuzzled noses and got within kissing distance during their duet. — Karen Mizoguchi, PEOPLE.com, "Joe Jonas, Taylor Swift's Reaction After Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello Didn't Kiss in MTV VMAs Duet," 26 Aug. 2019 The three 11-year-old heroes of Gene Stupnitsky’s new comedy are somewhat foul-mouthed, occasionally girl-crazy, and drawn into plenty of wild antics over the course of the movie—but every joke is about how bad these kids are at being bad. — David Sims, The Atlantic, "Good Boys Is a Raunchy but Sweet Comedy," 12 Aug. 2019 Rue’s actress Zendaya is singing an original song in voiceover (Zendaya, who came up on the Disney Channel, had a music career in addition to her acting career for awhile), and onscreen, Rue is mouthing along to the words, but slightly off-beat. — Constance Grady, Vox, "Why Euphoria’s messy season finale could mean great things for the show’s future," 11 Aug. 2019 Other obstacles include whether technology companies can adequately flag troublesome behavior in advance, and whether law enforcement can successfully separate out those bent on violence from those who simply mouth off about it. — Eric Tucker, Twin Cities, "Shooting shows challenges for FBI in probing domestic terror," 5 Aug. 2019 Liberal viewers think Lake has mouthed off enough and needs to go. — Kerry Lengel, azcentral, "Parlergate? What we know and don’t know about Kari Lake’s return to Fox 10," 24 July 2019 Most of the time, the camera was on Pacquiao, reverently mouthing the words to his country’s most precious piece of music. — Bill Dwyre, Los Angeles Times, "Commentary: Manny Pacquiao’s victory would be the ultimate farewell to a storied career," 21 July 2019 The smaller males care for the eggs, fanning them and mouthing them to clean them. — Jenny Howard, National Geographic, "These fish eggs aren't hatching. The culprit? Light pollution.," 9 July 2019

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

24 Oct 2019

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

\ 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

\ 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

\ 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

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to engage in dissolute behavior

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