mouth

♦♦

mouths, mouthing, mouthed

(The noun is pronounced [[t]ma͟ʊθ[/t]]. The verb is pronounced [[t]ma͟ʊð[/t]]. The plural of the noun and the third person singular of the verb are both pronounced [[t]ma͟ʊðz[/t]].)

1) N-COUNT: oft poss N Your mouth is the area of your face where your lips are or the space behind your lips where your teeth and tongue are.

She clamped her hand against her mouth...

His mouth was full of peas.

...an inflammation of the mouth.

Derived words:

-mouthed [[t]-ma͟ʊðd[/t]] COMB in ADJ

He straightened up and looked at me, open-mouthed.

...a wide-mouthed, gray-haired policeman.

2) N-COUNT: with supp, oft adj N You can say that someone has a particular kind of mouth to indicate that they speak in a particular kind of way or that they say particular kinds of things.

I've always had a loud mouth, I refuse to be silenced...

You've got such a crude mouth!

Derived words:

-mouthed COMB in ADJ-GRADED

...Simon, their smart-mouthed teenage son.

...mean-mouthed heavies with the sly sadistic eyes of professional bullies.

3) N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N of n The mouth of a cave, hole, or bottle is its entrance or opening.

By the mouth of the tunnel he bent to retie his lace.

Syn:

entrance

Derived words:

-mouthed COMB in ADJ

He put the flowers in a wide-mouthed blue vase.

4) N-COUNT: usu with supp The mouth of a river is the place where it flows into the sea.

...the town at the mouth of the River Dart.

5) VERB If you mouth something, you form words with your lips without making any sound.

[V n] I mouthed a goodbye and hurried in behind Momma...

[V n] She winked broadly at him and silently mouthed something...

[V with quote] `It's for you,' he mouthed.

6) VERB If you mouth something, you say it, especially without believing it or without understanding it.

[V n] I mouthed some sympathetic platitudes...

[V n] They mouthed the values of family, religion and charity, but demonstrated the opposite in their private lives.

7) PHRASE: N inflects If you have a number of mouths to feed, you have the responsibility of earning enough money to feed and look after that number of people.

He had to feed his family on the equivalent of four hundred pounds a month and, with five mouths to feed, he found this very hard.

8) PHRASE: V and N inflect, with brd-neg (emphasis) If you say that someone does not open their mouth, you are emphasizing that they never say anything at all.

Sometimes I hardly dare open my mouth...

He hasn't opened his mouth since he's been there.

9) PHRASE: V and N inflect If you keep your mouth shut about something, you do not talk about it, especially because it is a secret.

You wouldn't be here now if she'd kept her mouth shut.

Syn:

keep quiet

10) live hand to mouth → see hand

heart in your mouth → see heart

from the horse's mouth → see horse

to put your money where your mouth is → see money

shut your mouth → see shut

born with a silver spoon in your mouth → see spoon

word of mouth → see word

put words into someone's mouth → see word