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

Eternity was at the top of films ever tested by A24, which held regional word-of-mouth screenings across the country in partnership with organizations from AARP to Bucketlisters and TripAdvisor. —Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 27 Nov. 2025

And lawmakers are sometimes sold on products just by word-of-mouth, through lobbying backed by thousands, or even tens of thousands, of dollars, even amid mounting concern that students are getting too much screentime in school. —Lily Altavena, Freep.com, 24 Nov. 2025

Noun phrase

In the early days of coaching, White’s business grew through word of mouth. —Gili Malinsky, CNBC, 26 Nov. 2025

The government has made no announcement — those who went to the store heard about the change through word of mouth, the people said. —Matthew Martin, semafor.com, 22 Nov. 2025

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