Mouth — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

noun verb /ˈmau̇th/ (noun) /ˈmau̇t͟h/ (verb)

Meaning & Definition of Mouth

Mouth (noun)

  1. 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
  2. grimace
  3. an individual requiring food

Mouth (verb)

  1. speak, pronounce
  2. to utter bombastically, declaim
  3. to repeat without comprehension or sincerity

Mouth (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. the opening through which food passes into the body of an animal

    "the baby chicks opened their mouths very wide and chirped piteously when their mother came back with worms"

    similar: chops, gob (chiefly British), kisser (slang), mug, piehole (slang), trap (slang), yap (slang)
    related: countenance, face, puss (slang), visage, muzzle, jaws, mandible, maxilla, gullet, maw

  2. a twisting of the facial features in disgust or disapproval

    "the boy usually makes a mouth when he gets an injection"

    similar: face, frown, grimace, lower, moue, mow, mug, pout, scowl, snoot
    related: flinch, squinch, wince, growl, snarl, rictus, simper, smirk, scoff, sneer, glare, glower, look, stare
    near: grin, laugh, smile

  3. disrespectful or argumentative talk given in response to a command or request

    "I won't tolerate you giving your mother mouth about everything"

    similar: back talk, backchat, cheek, impertinence, impudence, insolence, sass, sauce
    related: comeback, rejoinder, retort, riposte, wisecrack, cuteness, discourtesy, disrespect, guff, impoliteness, nonsense, rudeness, tactlessness, audaciousness, audacity, boldness, brazenness, coarseness, crassness, crudity, vulgarity, abruptness, bluffness, bluntness, brusqueness, crossness, curtness, gruffness, surliness
    near: civility, cordiality, courtesy, diplomacy, politeness, tactfulness, consideration, gallantry, gentility, graciousness, smoothness, suaveness, suavity, deference, respect, affability

  4. a person who speaks for another or for a group

    "the press secretary is the official mouth of the administration"

    similar: mouthpiece, point man, point person, prophet, speaker, spokesman, spokesperson
    related: spokesmodel, spokeswoman, front, promoter, shill, communicator, sayer, talker, agent, ambassador, delegate, emissary, envoy, representative

Mouth (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to distort one's face

    "when her mother told her to mind, the little girl mouthed insolently and rolled her eyes"

    similar: grimace, mug, make a face, pull a face
    related: pout, contort, deform, twist, warp, frown, glare, gloom, glower, lower, scowl, gape, gaze, ogle, stare, growl, snarl, sneer, simper, smirk
    near: beam, grin, smile

  2. to speak softly and unclearly

    "the prompter mouthed the forgotten words under his breath"

    similar: chunter (British), grunt, mumble, murmur, mutter
    related: babble, blab, chatter, drivel, gabble, gibber, jabber, maunder, prattle, ramble, breathe, gasp, pant, whisper, buzz
    opposite: speak out, speak up
    near: articulate, enunciate

Related Entry: Mouth (off) (verb)

Mouth (off) is a different word from Mouth. The synonyms below are for mouth (off), not for mouth.

  1. to talk as if giving an important and formal speech

    "some crank mouthing off in the center of town to anyone who would listen"

    similar: declaim, discourse, harangue, orate, perorate
    related: rant, rave, bloviate, blow, lecture, preach, sermonize, advertise, announce, broadcast, declare, proclaim, pronounce, speak, speechify, talk

Related Entry: Mouth (down) (verb)

Mouth (down) is a different word from Mouth. The synonyms below are for mouth (down), not for mouth.

  1. as in swallow, down

    similar: digest, down, swallow, consume, eat, ingest, partake (of), put away, put down, tuck (away or in), bolt, chow (down on), devour, glut (on), gobble (up or down), gorge, gulp, scoff, slop, snarf (down), swill, wolf, chew, gnaw (at or on), gum, lap, lick, nibble (on), nurse, pick (at), relish, savor, taste, banquet, dine, fare, feast, gormandize, pig out, regale, dispatch, polish off, breakfast, lunch, sup, munch, nosh, snack

Related Entry: Bad-mouth (verb)

Bad-mouth is a different word from Mouth. The synonyms below are for bad-mouth, not for mouth.

  1. to express scornfully one's low opinion of

    "she promptly bad-mouthed that awful movie to everyone she knew"

    similar: belittle, cry down, decry, denigrate, deprecate, depreciate, derogate, diminish, dis (slang), discount, dismiss, disparage, kiss off, minimize, play down, poor-mouth, put down, run down, talk down, trash, trash-talk, vilipend, write off, dump on
    related: discommend, abuse, scold, disapprove (of), dislike, censure, condemn, criticize, denounce, reprehend, reprobate, asperse, defame, malign, rip, slander, slur, traduce, vilify, discredit, disgrace
    opposite: acclaim, applaud, exalt, extol, glorify, laud, magnify, praise
    near: approve, countenance, endorse, favor, recommend, sanction, commend, compliment, eulogize

Related Entry: Down in the mouth (adjective)

Down in the mouth is a different word from Mouth. The synonyms below are for down in the mouth, not for mouth.

  1. feeling unhappiness

    "after a disastrous date like that, anyone would be down in the mouth"

    similar: bad, blue, brokenhearted, cast down, crestfallen, dejected, depressed, despondent, disconsolate, doleful, down, downcast, downhearted, droopy, forlorn, gloomy, glum, hangdog, heartbroken, heartsick, heartsore, heavyhearted, inconsolable, joyless, low, low-spirited, melancholic, melancholy, miserable, mournful, sad, saddened, sorrowful, sorry, unhappy, woebegone, woeful, wretched
    related: aggrieved, distressed, troubled, uneasy, unquiet, upset, worried, despairing, hopeless, sunk, disappointed, discouraged, disheartened, dispirited, suicidal, dolorous, lachrymose, lugubrious, plaintive, tearful, regretful, rueful, agonized, anguished, grieving, wailing, weeping, black, bleak, cheerless, comfortless, dark, darkening, depressing, desolate, dismal, drear, dreary, elegiac, funereal, gray, morbid, morose, murky, saturnine, somber, sullen
    opposite: blissful, buoyant, buoyed, cheerful, cheery, chipper, delighted, glad, gladdened, gladsome, gleeful, happy, joyful, joyous, jubilant, sunny, upbeat
    near: ecstatic, elated, enraptured, entranced, euphoric, exhilarated, exuberant, exultant, overjoyed, rapturous, rhapsodic, blithe, blithesome, jocose, jocular, jocund, jolly, jovial, lightsome, merry, mirthful, excited, thrilled, hopeful, optimistic, rosy, sanguine, encouraged, heartened, animated, bouncing, energetic, frisky, jaunty, lively, peppy, perky, spirited, sprightful, sprightly, springy, vital, vivacious, zippy, content, gratified, pleased, satisfied, beaming, grinning, laughing, smiling, boon, carefree, careless, cavalier, devil-may-care, easygoing, happy-go-lucky, insouciant, lighthearted, unconcerned

Related Entry: Hand-to-mouth (adjective)

Hand-to-mouth is a different word from Mouth. The synonyms below are for hand-to-mouth, not for mouth.

  1. less plentiful than what is normal, necessary, or desirable

    "survived on a hand-to-mouth income that came from any odd job that he could find"

    similar: exiguous, light, meager, poor, scant, scanty, scarce, skimp, skimpy, slender, slim, spare, sparing, sparse, stingy, thin on the ground
    related: deficient, inadequate, insufficient, lacking, short, wanting, bare, bare-bones, least, littlest, lowest, mere, minimal, slightest, slight, small, thin, barren, infertile, sterile, unfruitful, unproductive
    opposite: abundant, ample, bountiful, copious, generous, liberal, plenteous, plentiful
    near: adequate, enough, satisfactory, sufficient, tolerable, fat, fecund, fertile, fruitful, prolific, rich, lavish, luxuriant, blooming, bursting, flourishing, proliferative, swarming, teeming, thriving, excess, extra, surplus

Related Entry: Poor-mouth (verb)

Poor-mouth is a different word from Mouth. The synonyms below are for poor-mouth, not for mouth.

  1. to express scornfully one's low opinion of

    "regardless of whatever is nominated, there'll be those who will poor-mouth the Oscar nominees"

    similar: bad-mouth, belittle, cry down, decry, denigrate, deprecate, depreciate, derogate, diminish, dis (slang), discount, dismiss, disparage, kiss off, minimize, play down, put down, run down, talk down, trash, trash-talk, vilipend, write off, dump on
    related: discommend, abuse, scold, disapprove (of), dislike, censure, condemn, criticize, denounce, reprehend, reprobate, asperse, defame, malign, rip, slander, slur, traduce, vilify, discredit, disgrace
    opposite: acclaim, applaud, exalt, extol, glorify, laud, magnify, praise
    near: approve, countenance, endorse, favor, recommend, sanction, commend, compliment, eulogize

Related Entry: Word-of-mouth (adjective)

Word-of-mouth is a different word from Mouth. The synonyms below are for word-of-mouth, not for mouth.

  1. made or carried on through speaking rather than in writing

    "not having the money to run ads, the restaurant relies on word-of-mouth publicity"

    similar: nuncupative, oral, spoken, unwritten, verbal, viva voce
    related: consensual, implicit, informal, articulated, verbalized, given, pronounced, said, sounded, stated, told, voiced
    opposite: paper, written
    near: explicit, formal

Related Entry: Run one's mouth (phrase)

Run one's mouth is a different word from Mouth. The synonyms below are for run one's mouth, not for mouth.

  1. to talk at length without sticking to a topic or getting to a point

    "There goes Joe, running his mouth again about stuff that doesn't really matter."

    similar: blather (on), go on, maunder, ramble, rattle, run on
    related: deviate, digress, stray, wander, sidetrack, blab, blabber, blither, bumble, burble, chat, chatter, drivel, drool, gab, gabble, gibber, jabber, patter, prate, prattle, waffle

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Mouth

The most common words with a similar meaning to Mouth:

Slang: kisser, piehole, trap, yap
Chiefly British: gob
British: chunter
chops, mug, face, frown, grimace, lower, moue, mow, pout, scowl, snoot, back talk, backchat, cheek, impertinence, impudence, insolence, sass, sauce, mouthpiece, point man, point person, prophet, speaker, spokesman, spokesperson, grunt, mumble, murmur, mutter, make a face, pull a face

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Mouth

Words with the opposite meaning of Mouth:

speak out, speak up

Related Words for Mouth

countenance, puss, visage, muzzle, jaws, mandible, maxilla, gullet, maw, flinch, squinch, wince, growl, snarl, rictus, simper, smirk, scoff, sneer, glare, glower, look, stare, comeback, rejoinder, retort, riposte, wisecrack, cuteness, discourtesy

Near Antonyms of Mouth

grin, laugh, smile, civility, cordiality, courtesy, diplomacy, politeness, tactfulness, consideration, gallantry, gentility, graciousness, smoothness, suaveness, suavity, deference, respect, affability, beam, articulate, enunciate

Word Forms of Mouth

Inflections: mouths, mouthed, mouthing

Derived words: mouthlike (adjective), mouther (noun)

Origin & Etymology of Mouth

Middle English, going back to Old English mūþ, going back to Germanic *munþa- (whence also Old Frisian mūth, mund "mouth," Old Saxon mūth, Middle Dutch mont, Old High German munt, Old Icelandic munnr, Gothic munþs), going back to dialectal Indo-European *mn̥t-, whence also Welsh mant "mouth, jaw, mandible," Latin mentum "chin"

First known use: before 12th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Mouth

Words & Phrases Containing Mouth

mouth breather, mouth guard, mouth harp, mouth hook, mouth organ, mouth-to-mouth, mouth off, mouth of the river

Frequently Asked Questions about Mouth

What does "Mouth" mean?

"Mouth" means 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. As an a noun and a verb, it is defined as: 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. It has 6 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Mouth"?

Other words for "Mouth" include chops, gob, kisser, mug, piehole, trap, yap and face. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Mouth" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Mouth"?

There are 127 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Mouth". Common alternatives include chops, gob, kisser, mug, piehole, trap, yap, face, frown and grimace.

What is a slang word for "Mouth"?

Slang words for "Mouth" include kisser, piehole, trap and yap.

What is the opposite of "Mouth"?

Antonyms of "Mouth" include speak out and speak up. Near antonyms include grin, laugh, smile and civility.

How do you use "Mouth" in a sentence?

Examples of "Mouth" in a sentence: "the baby chicks opened their mouths very wide and chirped piteously when their mother came back with worms"; "the boy usually makes a mouth when he gets an injection"; "I won't tolerate you giving your mother mouth about everything".

Is "Mouth" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Mouth" can be used as a noun and a verb, depending on the context.

Is "Mouth" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As an A1-level word, "Mouth" is typical of Cambridge A1 Movers (Young Learners), TOEIC Listening & Reading 120+.