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

Dino and Mesa, in fact, eschew a social media presence in favor of this type of word-of-mouth. — Timothy Depeugh, Southern Living, 25 July 2026

After seven years on Broadway and two years on the West End, the goal of the film version is to spread word-of-mouth even further for the show. — Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 23 July 2026

Noun phrase

Yet audiences had been mostly rewarding these efforts until now, even if reviews were poor or word of mouth was tepid. — David Sims, The Atlantic, 23 July 2026

The studio scrapped the now standard practice of word of mouth advance screenings for social media influencers, choosing instead to screen the film only for critics following its London premiere. — Olivia Shalhoup, Forbes.com, 20 July 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