mouth to feed

phrase

: a person (such as a child) who needs to be fed
They can't afford another child. They already have too many (hungry) mouths to feed.

Examples of mouth to feed in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In times of scarcity, when another mouth to feed means ruin for the poor, two children working together may be a revolutionary act. — Christine Smallwood, Harpers Magazine, 24 Mar. 2026 With another mouth to feed at home, going pro became a necessity to support her. — Jacob Louraine, Kansas City Star, 6 Mar. 2026 What will Maeve think of having one more mouth to feed? — Grace Byron, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2025 Even families with two parents struggled and often could not afford another mouth to feed. — Kali Nicole Gross / Made By History, TIME, 19 Sep. 2024 While Rantz was still a teen, his father and stepmother, viewing him as one extra mouth to feed, abandoned him at the start of the Great Depression. — Stuart Miller, Hartford Courant, 6 Jan. 2024 Every mouth to feed, quite literally, comes with two hands to grow. — Andrew Follett, National Review, 6 Jan. 2024 He is resented by Brother Nacho (Kinan Valdez), the most hot-tempered among them, for being another mouth to feed. — Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2023 Isher’s in-laws resented having another mouth to feed, and he was often mistreated and given little to eat. — New York Times, 23 June 2021

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Cite this Entry

“Mouth to feed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mouth%20to%20feed. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

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