: orally communicated
also
: generated from or reliant on oral publicity
word-of-mouth customers
a word-of-mouth business
: oral communication
especially
: oral often inadvertent publicity
Synonyms
Examples of word-of-mouth in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Guy Kurlandski, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023
More than a century of this strategy—and expansion to more than 50 countries—has made the company a massive word-of-mouth success, taking in billions in annual revenue.
—Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 14 Nov. 2023
The movie has also garnered solid word-of-mouth on social media.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 4 Nov. 2023
Many of them knew each other from work or school before moving to the estates, which relied on word-of-mouth for sales.
—Courtland Milloy, Washington Post, 31 Oct. 2023
Other prominent people could jump in, given the filing deadline isn’t until Dec. 7, but none appear to be on the horizon, per San Diego’s word-of-mouth political wire.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Oct. 2023
The sequel, Resurrection, would reunite Gibson with Sound of Freedom star Jim Caviezel, whose film bypassed the studio system to become the sleeper hit of the summer thanks in part to a word-of-mouth marketing campaign that included an endorsement from Gibson.
—Ashley Cullins, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Oct. 2023
But after a Toronto premiere that didn’t make any waves (and the few word-of-mouth whispers were not very complimentary), this one clearly isn’t the kind of player that warrants such a price tag.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2023
Attempts were made to record it, but ultimately the Replacements disappeared once more into the crannies of rock history, their ongoing legacy now powered by generational word-of-mouth and the occasional high-profile sync in films such as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
—Jonathan Cohen, Spin, 21 Sep. 2023
Sergey Kozhevnikov, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023
Agarwal spotlights plenty of artifacts from the days when the internet was ruled by Adobe Flash, and viral texts and images spread via word of mouth.
—Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Nov. 2023
After a soft start in China, Barbie began to make inroads in the world’s second-biggest movie market in its second frame, buoyed by great critics scores and strong word of mouth.
—Abid Rahman, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 July 2023
That can be through phone records or texts or word of mouth from the others.
—Amy Dickinson, Washington Post, 23 Sep. 2023
Not to mention word of mouth from longtime Cuban residents.
—Miriam Jordan David Cabrera, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2023
Fengshen opened Thursday with $7.5 million and strong word of mouth.
—Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 July 2023
Figures that have been reported mostly come from word of mouth.
—Joseph Hoyt, Dallas News, 11 July 2023
Its exterior is nondescript, bearing no distinctive L.G.B.T.Q. markers like rainbows or trans flags, but word of mouth has lured a growing pool of regulars.
—Harron Walker, New York Times, 30 Aug. 2023
See More
Adjective
This is particularly impactful in communities where information spreads through word-of-mouth rather than traditional marketing channels.
—Guy Kurlandski, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023
More than a century of this strategy—and expansion to more than 50 countries—has made the company a massive word-of-mouth success, taking in billions in annual revenue.
—Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 14 Nov. 2023
The movie has also garnered solid word-of-mouth on social media.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 4 Nov. 2023
Many of them knew each other from work or school before moving to the estates, which relied on word-of-mouth for sales.
—Courtland Milloy, Washington Post, 31 Oct. 2023
Other prominent people could jump in, given the filing deadline isn’t until Dec. 7, but none appear to be on the horizon, per San Diego’s word-of-mouth political wire.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Oct. 2023
The sequel, Resurrection, would reunite Gibson with Sound of Freedom star Jim Caviezel, whose film bypassed the studio system to become the sleeper hit of the summer thanks in part to a word-of-mouth marketing campaign that included an endorsement from Gibson.
—Ashley Cullins, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Oct. 2023
But after a Toronto premiere that didn’t make any waves (and the few word-of-mouth whispers were not very complimentary), this one clearly isn’t the kind of player that warrants such a price tag.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2023
Attempts were made to record it, but ultimately the Replacements disappeared once more into the crannies of rock history, their ongoing legacy now powered by generational word-of-mouth and the occasional high-profile sync in films such as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
—Jonathan Cohen, Spin, 21 Sep. 2023
Noun phrase
Meanwhile, research undertaken by Gartner shows that receiving value during a service interaction increases the likelihood of a customer sharing positive word of mouth by as much as 97%.
—Sergey Kozhevnikov, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023
Agarwal spotlights plenty of artifacts from the days when the internet was ruled by Adobe Flash, and viral texts and images spread via word of mouth.
—Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Nov. 2023
After a soft start in China, Barbie began to make inroads in the world’s second-biggest movie market in its second frame, buoyed by great critics scores and strong word of mouth.
—Abid Rahman, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 July 2023
That can be through phone records or texts or word of mouth from the others.
—Amy Dickinson, Washington Post, 23 Sep. 2023
Not to mention word of mouth from longtime Cuban residents.
—Miriam Jordan David Cabrera, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2023
Fengshen opened Thursday with $7.5 million and strong word of mouth.
—Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 July 2023
Figures that have been reported mostly come from word of mouth.
—Joseph Hoyt, Dallas News, 11 July 2023
Its exterior is nondescript, bearing no distinctive L.G.B.T.Q. markers like rainbows or trans flags, but word of mouth has lured a growing pool of regulars.
—Harron Walker, New York Times, 30 Aug. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'word-of-mouth.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Dictionary Entries Near word-of-mouth
Cite this Entry
“Word-of-mouth.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/word-of-mouth. Accessed 4 Dec. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
word of mouth
: spoken communication
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share