English Explanatory Dictionary

mouth

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The front opening of a creature through which food is ingested.
  2. The end of a river out of which water flows into a sea or other large body of water; or the end of a tributary out of which water flows into a larger river.
  3. An outlet, aperture or orifice.
  4. A loud or overly talkative person.
  5. A gossip.
  6. The crosspiece of a bridle bit, which enters the mouth of an animal.
  7. A principal speaker; one who utters the common opinion; a mouthpiece.
  8. Speech; language; testimony.
  9. A wry face; a grimace; a mow.
verb
  1. To speak; to utter.
  2. To represent (words or sounds) by making the actions of speech, but silently, without producing sound; to frame.
  3. To move the mouth, with or without sound; to form (air or words) with the mouth, with or without sound.
  4. Ellipsis of mouth the words; to speak insincerely.
  5. To utter with a voice that is overly loud or swelling.
  6. To exit at a mouth (such as a river mouth)
  7. To pick up or handle with the lips or mouth, but not chew or swallow.
  8. To take into the mouth; to seize or grind with the mouth or teeth; to chew; to devour.
  9. To form or cleanse with the mouth; to lick, as a bear licks her cub.
  10. To carry in the mouth.
  11. To make mouths at
  12. To form a mouth or opening in.

Pronunciation

mouth /maʊθ/ /mʌʊθ/ [məʊθ] /muːθ/ En-uk-mouth.ogg en-us-mouth.ogg /maʊð/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-mouth (verb).wav

Word forms

mouth mouths mouthing mouthed mouthe

Etymology

From Middle English mouth, from Old English mūþ, from Proto-West Germanic *munþ, from Proto-Germanic *munþaz (“mouth”), from Proto-Indo-European *ment- (“to chew; jaw, mouth”). Cognate with Scots mooth (“mouth”), North Frisian mös, müs, Mür (“mouth”), West Frisian mûn (“mouth”), Dutch mond (“mouth”), muide (“river mouth”) and mui (“riptide”), German Mund (“mouth”), Luxembourgish Mond (“mouth”), Danish mund (“mouth”), Faroese muður, munnur (“mouth”), Icelandic munnur (“mouth”), Swedish mun (“mouth”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk munn (“mouth”), Gothic 𐌼𐌿𐌽𐌸𐍃 (munþs, “mouth”), Latin mentum (“chin”) and mandō (“to chew”), Ancient Greek μάσταξ (mástax, “jaws, mouth”) and μασάομαι (masáomai, “to chew”), Albanian mjekër (“chin, beard”), Welsh mant (“jawbone”), Hittite 𒈨𒂊𒉌𒄿 (me-e-ni-i /⁠mēni⁠/, “face, cheek”). The verb is from Middle English mouthen, from the noun.

Synonyms

bazoo cakehole chops clam clamshell gob hash-trap kisser laughing gear maw mouth mush neb ned north and south oral cavity os piehole potato trap puss sucker trap yap

Related words

a closed mouth gathers no feet all mouth and trousers bad taste in one's mouth butter wouldn't melt in someone's mouth don't look a gift horse in the mouth down in the mouth foam at the mouth hush one's mouth keep a civil tongue in one's mouth keep one's mouth shut lie ill in one's mouth mouth of a sailor one's heart in one's mouth open one's big mouth out of the mouths of babes potty mouth put words in someone's mouth put one's foot in one's mouth put one's money where one's mouth is shoot off at the mouth shut one's mouth straight from the horse's mouth wash one's mouth out watch one's mouth smile orifice

Derived words

a closed mouth catches no flies a closed mouth doesn't get fed a closed mouth gathers no feet adder mouth adder's mouth all mouth allmouth all mouth and no pants trousers all mouth and pants all of one's taste is in one's mouth all one's taste is in one's mouth assmouth ass to mouth ass-to-mouth ATM babblemouth bad-mouth bad taste in one's mouth bean mouth bellmouth bemouth big mouth bigmouth birdsmouth bird's mouth blabbermouth blabmouth blackmouth bloodmouth bone-mouth born with a silver spoon in one's mouth bristlemouth broadmouth bucketmouth burning mouth syndrome butter will not melt in someone's mouth butter won't melt in someone's mouth butter would not melt in someone's mouth butter wouldn't melt in someone's mouth cavemouth chiselmouth corner of the mouth cottonmouth diarrhea of the mouth dirty mouth don't look a gift horse in the mouth down in the mouth downmouth do you kiss your mother with that mouth dragon's mouth dry mouth fishmouth flannelmouth flannel-mouth flannel mouth flutemouth foam at the mouth foot-and-mouth disease foot-and-mouth

Translations

Czech: nehlasně vyslovit Māori: tametame Māori: kōtamu Māori: kōtamutamu Serbo-Croatian: izustiti Spanish: articular
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