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

The acquisition extends the international reach of a film that has become a word-of-mouth phenomenon in the Middle Kingdom. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 15 June 2026

But both Obsession and Backrooms have benefited from alternative creative pipelines, organic word-of-mouth campaigns, and an overall sense of franchise fatigue that has the 18-to-28 demographic looking for other ways to entertain themselves. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 14 June 2026

Noun phrase

Thanks to the quality of the fish, word of mouth, foreign guidebooks, and now Moe’s exertions on Instagram, there are long lines at the door, especially on weekends. —David Remnick, New Yorker, 8 June 2026

Drawn by word of mouth, more and more mathematicians joined the effort. —Quanta Magazine, 8 June 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