word-of-mouth

1 of 2

adjective

ˌwərd-ə(v)-ˈmau̇th 

: orally communicated

also : generated from or reliant on oral publicity

word-of-mouth customers

a word-of-mouth business

word of mouth

2 of 2

noun phrase

: oral communication

especially : oral often inadvertent publicity

Synonyms of word-of-mouth

Adjective

• oral
• verbal

Examples of word-of-mouth in a Sentence

Adjective

not having the money to run ads, the restaurant relies on word-of-mouth publicity

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

In industries where reputation travels — and in a connected world, reputation travels everywhere — that honesty becomes the foundation of referrals, renewals, and the kind of word-of-mouth that no ad budget can manufacture. —Rhett Power, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026

Strong word-of-mouth prompted a transfer to Off-Broadway's Daryl Roth Theatre. —Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 26 May 2026

Noun phrase

The thousand-plus paying customers who use the platform every week tend to find it through the same channels Chen has been mining for four years — search, organic creator videos, and word of mouth. —Vivian Toh, Forbes.com, 30 May 2026

So there’s a lot of faith placed in word of mouth and offers that aren’t yet official. —Antonio Morales, New York Times, 28 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1817, in the meaning defined above

Noun Phrase

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

word of mouth

: spoken communication