Adjacent Words

Mouth definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

MOUTH, n.
1. The aperture in the head of an animal, between the lips, by which he utters his voice and receives food. In a more general sense, the mouth consists of the lips, the gums, the insides of the cheeks, the palate, the salival glands, the uvula and tonsils.
2. The opening of a vessel by which it is filled or emptied; as the mouth of a jar or pitcher.
3. The part or channel of a river by which its waters are discharged into the ocean or into a lake. The Mississippi and the Nile discharge their waters by several mouths.
4. The opening of a piece of ordnance at the end, by which the charge issues.
5. The aperture of a vessel in animal bodies, by which fluids or other matter is received or discharged; as the mouth of the lacteals.
6. The opening or entrance of a cave, pit, well or den. Daniel 8.
7. The instrument of speaking; as, the story is in every body's mouth.
8. A principal speaker; one that utters the common opinion.
Every coffee house has some statesman belonging to it, who is the mouth of the street where he lives.
9. Cry; voice.
The fearful dogs divide,
All spend their mouth aloft, but none abide.
10. In Scripture, words uttered. Job 19. Isaiah 49. Psalms 73.
11. Desires; necessities. Psalms 103.
12. Freedom and boldness of speech; force of argument.
Luke 21.
13. Boasting; vaunting. Judges 9.
14. Testimony. Deutoronomy 17.
15. Reproaches; calumnies. Job 5.
To make a mouth, to distort the mouth;
To make mouths, to make a wry face; hence, to deride or treat with scorn.
1. To pout; to treat disdainfully.
Down in the mouth, dejected; mortified.
To have God's law in the mouth, to converse much on it and delight in it. Exodus 13.
To draw near to God with the mouth, to make an external appearance of devotion and worship, while there is no regard to him in the heart. Isaiah 29.
A froward mouth, contradictions and disobedience. Proverbs 9.
A smooth mouth, soft and flattering language. Proverbs 5.
To stop the mouth, to silence or to be silent; to put to shame; to confound. Romans 3lay the hand on the mouth, to be struck silent with shame. Micah 7.
To set the mouth against the heavens, to speak arrogantly and blasphemously. Psalms 73.
MOUTH, v.t. To utter with a voice affectedly big or swelling; as, to mouth words or language.
Twitch'd by the sleeve, he mouths it more and more.
1. To take into the mouth; to seize with the mouth.
2. To chew; to grind, as food; to eat; to devour.
3. To form by the mouth, as a bear her cub. [Not used.]
4. To reproach; to insult.
MOUTH, v.i. To speak with a full, round, or loud, affected voice; to vociferate; to rant; as a mouthing actor.
I'll bellow out for Rome and for my country,
And mouth at Caesar, till I shake the senate.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge; "he stuffed his mouth with candy" [syn: mouth, oral cavity, oral fissure, rima oris]
2: the externally visible part of the oral cavity on the face and the system of organs surrounding the opening; "she wiped lipstick from her mouth"
3: an opening that resembles a mouth (as of a cave or a gorge); "he rode into the mouth of the canyon"; "they built a fire at the mouth of the cave"
4: the point where a stream issues into a larger body of water; "New York is at the mouth of the Hudson"
5: a person conceived as a consumer of food; "he has four mouths to feed"
6: a spokesperson (as a lawyer) [syn: mouthpiece, mouth]
7: an impudent or insolent rejoinder; "don't give me any of your sass" [syn: sass, sassing, backtalk, back talk, lip, mouth]
8: the opening of a jar or bottle; "the jar had a wide mouth" v
1: express in speech; "She talks a lot of nonsense"; "This depressed patient does not verbalize" [syn: talk, speak, utter, mouth, verbalize, verbalise]
2: articulate silently; form words with the lips only; "She mouthed a swear word"
3: touch with the mouth

Merriam Webster's

I. noun (plural mouths) Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English, from Old English m?th; akin to Old High German mund mouth and perhaps to Latin mentum chin Date: before 12th century 1. a. the natural opening through which food passes into the body of an animal and which in vertebrates is typically bounded externally by the lips and internally by the pharynx and encloses the tongue, gums, and teeth b. grimace <made a mouth> c. an individual requiring food <had too many mouths to feed> 2. a. voice, speech <finally gave mouth to her feelings> b. mouthpiece 3a c. (1) a tendency to excessive talk (2) saucy or disrespectful language ; impudence 3. something that resembles a mouth especially in affording entrance or exit: as a. the place where a stream enters a larger body of water b. the surface opening of an underground cavity c. the opening of a container d. an opening in the side of an organ flue pipe • mouthlike adjective II. Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. a. speak, pronounce b. to utter bombastically ; declaim c. to repeat without comprehension or sincerity <always mouthing platitudes> d. to form soundlessly with the lips <the librarian mouthed the word “quiet”> e. to utter indistinctly ; mumble <mouthed his words> 2. to take into the mouth; especially eat intransitive verb 1. a. to talk pompously ; rant — often used with off b. to talk insolently or impudently — usually used with off 2. to move the mouth especially so as to make faces • mouther noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. (pl. mouths) 1 a an external opening in the head, through which most animals admit food and emit communicative sounds. b (in humans and some animals) the cavity behind it containing the means of biting and chewing and the vocal organs. 2 a the opening of a container such as a bag or sack. b the opening of a cave, volcano, etc. c the open end of a woodwind or brass instrument. d the muzzle of a gun. 3 the place where a river enters the sea. 4 colloq. a talkativeness. b impudent talk; cheek. 5 an individual regarded as needing sustenance (an extra mouth to feed). 6 a horse's readiness to feel and obey the pressure of the bit. --v. 1 tr. & intr. utter or speak solemnly or with affectations; rant, declaim (mouthing platitudes). 2 tr. utter very distinctly. 3 intr. a move the lips silently. b grimace. 4 tr. take (food) in the mouth. 5 tr. touch with the mouth. 6 tr. train the mouth of (a horse). Phrases and idioms: give mouth (of a dog) bark, bay. keep one's mouth shut colloq. not reveal a secret. mouth-organ = HARMONICA. mouth-to-mouth (of resuscitation) in which a person breathes into a subject's lungs through the mouth. mouth-watering 1 (of food etc.) having a delicious smell or appearance. 2 tempting, alluring. put words into a person's mouth represent a person as having said something in a particular way. take the words out of a person's mouth say what another was about to say. Derivatives: mouthed adj. (also in comb.). mouther n. mouthless adj. Etymology: OE muth f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mouth Mouth (mouth), n.; pl. Mouths (mou[th]z). [OE. mouth, mu[thorn], AS. m[=u][eth]; akin to D. mond, OS. m[=u][eth], G. mund, Icel. mu[eth]r, munnr, Sw. mun, Dan. mund, Goth. mun[thorn]s, and possibly L. mentum chin; or cf. D. muil mouth, muzzle, G. maul, OHG. m[=u]la, Icel. m[=u]li, and Skr. mukha mouth.] 1. The opening through which an animal receives food; the aperture between the jaws or between the lips; also, the cavity, containing the tongue and teeth, between the lips and the pharynx; the buccal cavity. 2. Hence: An opening affording entrance or exit; orifice; aperture; as: (a) The opening of a vessel by which it is filled or emptied, charged or discharged; as, the mouth of a jar or pitcher; the mouth of the lacteal vessels, etc. (b) The opening or entrance of any cavity, as a cave, pit, well, or den. (c) The opening of a piece of ordnance, through which it is discharged. (d) The opening through which the waters of a river or any stream are discharged. (e) The entrance into a harbor. 3. (Saddlery) The crosspiece of a bridle bit, which enters the mouth of an animal. 4. A principal speaker; one who utters the common opinion; a mouthpiece. Every coffeehouse has some particular statesman belonging to it, who is the mouth of the street where he lives. --Addison. 5. Cry; voice. [Obs.] --Dryden. 6. Speech; language; testimony. That in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. --Matt. xviii. 16. 7. A wry face; a grimace; a mow. Counterfeit sad looks, Make mouths upon me when I turn my back. --Shak. Down in the mouth, chapfallen; of dejected countenance; depressed; discouraged. [Obs. or Colloq.] Mouth friend, one who professes friendship insincerely. --Shak. Mouth glass, a small mirror for inspecting the mouth or teeth. Mouth honor, honor given in words, but not felt. --Shak. Mouth organ. (Mus.) (a) Pan's pipes. See Pandean. (b) An harmonicon. Mouth pipe, an organ pipe with a lip or plate to cut the escaping air and make a sound. To stop the mouth, to silence or be silent; to put to shame; to confound. The mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped. --Ps. lxiii. 11. Whose mouths must be stopped. --Titus i. 11.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mouth Mouth, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mouthed; p. pr. & vb. n. Mouthing.] 1. To take into the mouth; to seize or grind with the mouth or teeth; to chew; to devour. --Dryden. 2. To utter with a voice affectedly big or swelling; to speak in a strained or unnaturally sonorous manner. ``Mouthing big phrases.'' --Hare. Mouthing out his hollow oes and aes. --Tennyson. 3. To form or cleanse with the mouth; to lick, as a bear her cub. --Sir T. Browne. 4. To make mouths at. [R.] --R. Blair.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mouth Mouth, v. i. 1. To speak with a full, round, or loud, affected voice; to vociferate; to rant. I'll bellow out for Rome, and for my country, And mouth at C[ae]sar, till I shake the senate. --Addison. 2. To put mouth to mouth; to kiss. [R.] --Shak. 3. To make grimaces, esp. in ridicule or contempt. Well I know, when I am gone, How she mouths behind my back. --Tennyson.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(mouthing, mouthed) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. 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. N-COUNT: oft poss N • -mouthed He straightened up and looked at me, open-mouthed. COMB in ADJ 2. 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. You've got such a crude mouth! N-COUNT: with supp, oft adj N • -mouthed ...Simon, their smart-mouthed teenage son. COMB in ADJ 3. 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. = entrance N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N of n • -mouthed He put the flowers in a wide-mouthed blue vase. COMB in ADJ 4. The mouth of a river is the place where it flows into the sea. ...the town at the mouth of the River Dart. N-COUNT: usu with supp 5. If you mouth something, you form words with your lips without making any sound. I mouthed a goodbye and hurried in behind Momma... 'It's for you,' he mouthed. VERB: V n, V with quote 6. If you mouth something, you say it, especially without believing it or without understanding it. I mouthed some sympathetic platitudes... VERB: V n 7. 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. PHRASE: N inflects 8. 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... PHRASE: V and N inflect, with brd-neg [emphasis] 9. 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. PHRASE: V and N inflect 10. to 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 to be born with a silver spoon in your mouth: see spoon word of mouth: see word

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

mowth (peh, chekh, garon (Ps 149:6); Aramaic pum, tera (Da 3:26); stoma, 71 times, once logos, i.e. "word of mouth," "speech" (Ac 15:27); once we find the verb epistomizo, "to silence," "to stop the mouth" (Tit 1:11)):

1. Literal Sense:

In addition to frequent references to man and animals, "Their food was yet in their mouths" (Ps 78:30); "And Yahweh opened the mouth of the ass" (Nu 22:28); "Save me from the lion's mouth" (Ps 22:21), etc., the term is often used in connection with inanimate things: mouth of a sack (Ge 42:27); of the earth (Ge 4:11; Nu 26:10); of a well (Nu 29:2,3,8,10); of a cave (Jos 10:18,22,27); of Sheol (Ps 141:7); of the abyss (Jer 48:28); of furnace (Aramaic tera`, Da 3:26); of idols (Ps 115:5; 135:16,17).

2. Figurative Sense:

(1) The "mouth" denotes language, speech, declaration (compare "lips," "tongue," which see): "By the mouth of" is "by means of," "on the declaration of" (Lu 1:70; Ac 1:16); "Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be slain at the mouth of witnesses" (Nu 35:30; compare De 17:6; Mt 18:16; Heb 10:28); "I will give you mouth and wisdom" (Lu 21:15); "fool's mouth" (Pr 18:7).

(2) "Mouth" also denotes "spokesman": "He shall be to thee a mouth" (Ex 4:16).

Numerous are the idiomatic phrases which have, in part, been introduced into English by means of the language of the Bible. "To put into the mouth," if said of God, denotes Divine inspiration (De 18:18; Mic 3:5). "To have words put into the mouth" means to have instructions given (De 31:19; 2Sa 14:3; Jer 1:9; Ex 4:11-16). "The fruit of the mouth" (Pr 18:20) is synonymical with wisdom, the mature utterance of the wise. "To put one's mouth into the dust" is equivalent with humbling one's self (La 3:29; compare "to lay one's horn in the dust," Job 16:15). Silent submission is expressed by "laying the hand upon the mouth" (Jud 18:19; Job 29:9; 40:4; Mic 7:16); compare "to refrain the lips"; see LIP. "To open the mouth wide" against a person is to accuse him wildly and often wrongfully (Ps 35:21; Isa 57:4), otherwise "to open one's mouth wide," "to have an enlarged mouth" means to have great confidence and joy in speaking or accepting good things (1Sa 2:1; Eze 33:22; 2Co 6:11; Eph 6:19). "To gape upon one with the mouth" means to threaten a person (Job 16:10). Divine rebuke is expressed by the "rod of God's mouth" (Isa 11:4), and the Messiah declares "He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword" (Isa 49:2; compare Re 2:16; 19:15,21). Great anguish, such as dying with thirst, is expressed by "the tongue cleaving to the roof of the mouth" (Hebrew chekh, Job 29:10; Ps 137:6; compare 22:15).

H. L. E. Luering

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Chaps, jaws, cavity between the jaws. 2. Aperture (in a vessel for receiving or discharging anything), opening, orifice. 3. Entrance (as of a cave or a river), inlet. 4. Cry, voice. 5. Oracle, mouthpiece, speaker, spokesman. 6. Grimace, wry face, mow. II. v. n. Vociferate, rant.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

A noisy fellow. Mouth half cocked; one gaping and staring at every thing he sees. To make any one laugh on the wrong, or t'other side of his mouth; to make him cry or grieve.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

A silly fellow. A dupe. To stand mouth; i.e. to be duped.

Moby Thesaurus

Brillat-Savarin, Lucullus, access, announce, aperture, arm, armlet, articulate, audacity, back talk, backchat, bay, bayou, bazoo, be hypocritical, belt, betray, bight, bite, blandish, blow, blubber, blue, board-and-roomer, boarder, boasting, boca, boldness, bombast, bon vivant, brag, braggadocio, bragging, brashness, cannibal, cant, carnivore, champ, chaps, chatter, chaw, cheek, chew, chew the cud, chew up, chomp, chops, claptrap, cock-a-doodle-doo, connoisseur of food, consumer, converse, cove, creek, crestfallen, crow, debate, debouch, debouchment, declaim, dejected, delta, demagogue, despondent, diner, diner-out, disclose, discover, disheartened, dispirited, disrespect, divulge, door, doorway, downcast, drone, eater, eater-out, elocute, embouchure, entrance, entree, entry, enunciate, epicure, estuary, euripus, exit, express, face, feeder, fjord, flesh-eater, flippancy, freshness, frith, fruitarian, fustian, gab, gabble, gas, gasconade, gastronome, gate, gateway, gibber, give away, give lip service, give mouth honor, glutton, gnash, gnaw, gob, gourmand, gourmet, grain-eater, graminivore, granivore, grimace, grind, gulf, gum, gut, harangue, harbor, herbivore, high liver, hold forth, hot air, hungry mouth, idle talk, impertinence, impudence, inlet, insolence, jabber, jaw, jaws, jowls, kisser, kyle, lactovegetarian, lap, lick, lip, lips, loch, luncher, make a face, make a mouth, man-eater, mandibles, masticate, maunder, maw, maxilla, meat-eater, melancholy, mop, mop and mow, moue, mouthing, mouthpiece, mow, mug, mumble, munch, murmur, mush, mutter, muzzle, narrow, narrow seas, narrows, natural harbor, nibble, omnivore, omophagist, opening, oral cavity, orate, orifice, out-herod Herod, outfall, outlet, pantophagist, passage, passageway, patter, perorate, pertness, phytophage, picnicker, plant-eater, play the hypocrite, pout, prate, predacean, premaxilla, presumptuousness, pronounce, puff, pull a face, rabble-rouse, rant, rave, reach, read, recite, reek of piety, render lip service, road, roads, roadstead, rodomontade, rudeness, ruminate, sad, sass, sauce, sauciness, say, snivel, snuffle, soapbox, sob, soft-soap, sorrowful, sound, speak, speak incoherently, speaker, spiel, spill, splutter, spokesperson, spokeswoman, spout, sputter, stoma, strait, straits, susurrate, sweet-talk, talk, tell, tongue, trap, trencherman, tub-thump, unhappy, utter, vaunt, vegetarian, vent, vocalize, voice, wag the tongue, way, way in, way out, whisper, yap