I. noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
chiselled features/chin/mouth/nose etc
▪
his chiselled good looks
foot and mouth disease
leaves a nasty taste in...mouth (= makes you feel upset or angry afterwards )
▪
When you feel you’ve been cheated, it always leaves a nasty taste in the mouth .
me and my big mouth (= said when you wish you had not told someone a secret )
mouth agape
▪
Vince watched, his mouth agape in horror.
mouth organ
mouth twisted
▪
His mouth twisted in a humourless smile.
mouth twitched
▪
His mouth twitched slightly, and then he smiled.
mouth ulcer
smack in the mouth/face/gob
▪
Talk like that and I’ll give you a smack in the mouth.
the mouth of a river (= where it joins the sea )
▪
The Statue of Liberty stands at the mouth of the Hudson River.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
big
▪
The final proof, or perhaps the first, is the chub's big mouth and thick white rubbery lips.
▪
Director Jafar Panahi clearly loves children for what they are, big mouths and all.
▪
And to have a big mouth to project.
▪
Having got away with that, why would the President worry about a big-mouth intern?
▪
I generally think of sushi as bite-sized, but at Sushi-Cho you need a big mouth to eat your sushi without embarrassment.
▪
She said she felt like a rabbit caught in the headlights and her teeth felt too big for her mouth .
▪
To her sisters, she is simply a big mouth .
dry
▪
Specific questioning showed symptoms of dry eyes and dry mouth .
▪
He pushed into the dry toothless mouth that constricted like the elastic cuff of a pajama sleeve.
▪
Thirstlessness is usual even with a fever or the dry mouth which is also commonly present.
▪
The tablet treats radiation-induced dry mouth in head and neck cancer patients.
▪
I was alone, dry of mouth , sick at heart.
▪
Violent thirst for ice cold, and refreshing drinks; dry mouth and throat.
▪
I notice that you show jump ... does your horse suffer from a dry mouth condition?
full
▪
The heavily plucked eyebrows and the full mouth , thickly and glossily lipsticked, she found a little distasteful.
▪
Fair-haired wispy girl. Full mouth , high neck, blue-eyed flower girl, his slender pale narcissus.
▪
She had a wide, full mouth , a straight nose, and the same piercing blue eyes as her brother.
▪
He put an arm round her waist, pulled her close, kissed her full on the mouth .
▪
Her face was strong, like Creek statuary, with a full mouth , rounded chin.
▪
A lively, arrogant face, rather square, eyes wide-set, and a full , curving mouth .
▪
So the full mouth fell upon the precious ear to devour it?
open
▪
She had not killed him, she was leading him away from the open mouth of the cave and towards the distant city.
▪
He turned the open mouth of the urn toward the light and peered in.
▪
Fire came from its open mouth .
▪
Sylvia watched, mesmerised, as Estelle peed over the man's face and into his open mouth .
▪
The eyes were open , the mouth parched and breathless.
▪
Lightly falling raindrops splashed into her open mouth and eyes, skittering across her taut, shiny face.
wide
▪
She, that person, had a wide mouth , with plump lips, like cushions.
▪
The cauldron was lying on the floor, its wide mouth gaping at her like a cannon.
▪
Far ahead he could see a sloping ramp that led up to a wide mouth gaping into a busy street.
▪
They were particularly striking set in his narrow face with its wide mouth .
▪
He looked at her wide mouth , the full lips that kissed him so often and so lusciously.
▪
When she smiled, her wide mouth pushed her cheeks into a series of tiny wrinkles like those in crepe paper.
▪
The girl looked at him, her eyes wide , her mouth open but unable to produce a sound.
▪
Her wide mouth , emphasized with her scarlet lipstick, parted in a glowing smile.
■ NOUN
disease
▪
I suspected that some one was shooting deer, which are feared to transmit foot and mouth disease .
▪
If they have foot and mouth disease , then they would need another month or two months.
▪
The number of cases of foot and mouth disease in Britain is soaring.
▪
It lies at the centre of a viral hot zone, surrounded by farms infected with foot and mouth disease .
▪
Murrain was usually fatal, while hoof and mouth disease permanently weakened animals without causing death.
▪
As if the countryside were not paranoid enough, along comes the spectre of foot and mouth disease .
▪
Another hero with foot and mouth disease , feet of clay and a mouth less than squeaky clean.
▪
Comment &038; Analysis / Foot in mouth disease ? / Foot in mouth disease?
river
▪
At Pevensey, reclamation of the adjacent estuary had reduced tidal scouring, which had previously kept the river mouth open.
▪
On Romney Marsh, silting of river mouths was worsened by the problem of peat shrinkage.
▪
On the other hand, once clear of the river mouth , he could sail a clear reach for Key Canaka.
▪
Trent believed that they were less than two miles from the river mouth .
▪
It seems unlikely that 69 could be taken to include river mouths .
▪
Visualising the chart, he calculated the distance to the Makaa river mouth at about twelve miles.
■ VERB
close
▪
This last Idi himself had, scooping it up swiftly, closing the distance between mouth and plate with every spoonful.
▪
Her eyes are closed , her mouth is partly open, breaking the surface of a stormy face.
▪
I closed my mouth and felt as though I had gargled with barbed wire.
▪
Clinton had barely closed his mouth when the pronouncements began.
▪
His mouth remained closed in favour of the second mouth conveniently nearer the lungs.
▪
Lee didn't take them but he closed his mouth and there was no sound.
▪
Marie started to say something, then closed her mouth .
cover
▪
People covered their mouths in agony.
▪
Bring a cloth to cover your mouth .
▪
He slapped her, swiftly and casually, his hand coming back to cover her mouth in case she might cry out.
▪
Mrs Okano laughs out loud, then covers her mouth with her hand.
▪
Corbett gagged at the bitter-sweet smell of corruption and covered his mouth and nose with his cloak to prevent himself choking.
▪
The son went over and pulled the blankets high to cover his mouth .
▪
She untied the knots and removed the saliva sodden strip of cushion covering from his mouth .
▪
She laughed, covered her mouth .
feed
▪
There's going to be another hungry mouth to feed out of your advertising budgets come October.
▪
More mouths to feed , Malthus contended, meant less food in each mouth.
▪
Very likely there was a nest there, full of hungry little mouths waiting to be fed .
▪
Burdens unloaded, the escort was sent back, horses and extra mouths to feed being undesired.
▪
Inside him seemed to be an unappeasable mouth that said, Feed me, feed me.
▪
In the early years, with four young mouths to feed , they were dirt-poor.
▪
Two had died in infancy, otherwise there would have been nine little mouths to feed .
▪
Now there are many more mouths to feed .
keep
▪
This is all from Gran so keep your mouth shut.
▪
For one, a mistress who kept her mouth shut.
▪
Presumably to keep his mouth shut.
▪
The Mayor keeps staring at his mouth .
▪
And if both prisoners keep their mouths shut, neither will be incarcerated.
▪
It works, too, as long as certain people can be persuaded to keep their mouths shut.
kiss
▪
I kissed her on the mouth and she kissed me back.
▪
He had moved to kiss my mouth , but I had turned my head and he had kissed my cheek.
▪
Hoping desperately that she had not changed her mind, he leaned over and kissed her on the mouth .
▪
Baby Suggs kissed her on the mouth and refused to let her see the children.
▪
She drew him the length of her body, and he glided into her as she kissed his mouth .
▪
Then he kissed her on the mouth .
melt
▪
However, when you meet Sean Young she's disarmingly polite and looks as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth .
▪
These eggs melt in your mouth .
▪
Butter wouldn't melt in his mouth .
▪
The meat is juicy and salty, peppery around the edges, and just soft enough to melt in your mouth .
▪
She may look like a fire-breathing dragon, but butter wouldn't melt in her mouth .
▪
From the look of her, butter wouldn't melt in her mouth !
▪
The salmon sushi and the yellowtail sashimi are likely to melt in your mouth , so pay close attention.
put
▪
On an impulse he put one in his mouth and bit timidly.
▪
Then Prager, who bowed like a prince and put his mouth where all those mouths had been-How could he?
▪
The researchers had given me an electric thermometer, a stalk of red plastic, to put in my mouth .
▪
He cut a plug from it, put it in his mouth , wrapped the meat, and took off his glasses.
▪
Franco put his in his mouth and chewed it up, he was teething at the time.
▪
Luckily, I discovered it before I put it into my mouth .
▪
Stop trying to put words into my mouth .
▪
I put some-thing in my mouth and can not taste it.
shoot
▪
So you can't shoot your mouth off.
▪
Each died of a pistol shot to the mouth .
▪
Inside was the body of a man who had been shot through the mouth .
▪
And were a scream to rise in her, would she manage to suppress it before it shot from her mouth ?
shut
▪
He shut his mouth and hung his head.
▪
I wanted to scream, to tell the kid5 to shut their mouths and go to hell.
▪
John keeps opening and shutting his mouth like a fish. 64.
▪
When a coffin comes by, we take our hats off and shut our mouths no matter who is in it.
▪
That's not the way I planned it. Shut your mouth till you know the truth.
▪
I nearly replied, but I shut my mouth instead, trusting some other instinct.
▪
He lies on his side with his eyes shut and his mouth open.
▪
With that he shut his mouth firmly.
speak
▪
He turned back towards me, opened his mouth to speak and was gone.
▪
He opens his mouth to speak .
▪
He opened his mouth to speak , but saw the corpse stretched before him and shut it.
▪
That was what his eyes asked, while his mouth spoke hollow questions.
▪
And when she opens her mouth to speak , the words come out in the honeyed tones of the trained singer.
▪
He opened his mouth to speak but Carrie had turned.
▪
His cigar was stuck in the corner of his mouth as he spoke .
watch
▪
We have to watch our mouths and let our kids know that bad words are unacceptable.
▪
It learns to talk, watching the others' mouths .
▪
Then Mavis watched Gordy clamp his mouth shut and crane his neck toward the back of the crowd.
▪
I remember watching her mouth while she talked.
▪
It went up 32 points Thursday, a day Newt watched his mouth .
▪
You can, of course, order fish without chips at the Mermaid and watch the proprietor's mouth open in surprise.
▪
She knew he had spoken, she had watched his mouth move.
wipe
▪
His face lit up suddenly, he wiped his mouth and shook his feet free of the snow cocoon.
▪
He was wiping his mouth with a striped napkin.
▪
When Dan had returned after his drink, wiping his mouth and looking cooler, she had been silent.
▪
He spat and shrugged his shoulder across his lips, wiping his mouth , then he continued his progress across the lawn.
▪
Anne's logic was, ` I refuse to spend half a year watching you guys wipe your mouths on your sleeves.
▪
She wiped her mouth with her hand, then drank and wiped her mouth again.
▪
When he'd finished he wiped his mouth and passed the jar to Joseph.
▪
McAlister wiped his mouth and threw down his napkin and stood.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
(straight/right) from the horse's mouth
be born with a silver spoon in your mouth
be foaming at the mouth
▪
One man is foaming at the mouth and moaning.
big mouth
▪
And to have a big mouth to project.
▪
But I kept my big mouth shut.
▪
Director Jafar Panahi clearly loves children for what they are, big mouths and all.
▪
I generally think of sushi as bite-sized, but at Sushi-Cho you need a big mouth to eat your sushi without embarrassment.
▪
If Britain is a body then Essex is the botty and Barnsley's the great big mouth.
▪
The final proof, or perhaps the first, is the chub's big mouth and thick white rubbery lips.
▪
To her sisters, she is simply a big mouth.
butter wouldn't melt in sb's mouth
curl of sb's lip/mouth
▪
David had always treated them with a superior curl of the lip.
dry mouth/skin/lips/hair etc
▪
Finesse's hairspray formulations are non-sticky, and yet give perfect control when applied to dry hair.
▪
For 24 hours a day, the irritation caused by severely dry skin verges on torture.
▪
In places the green is so thick on the page that it develops a gloss like the dried skin of oil paint.
▪
Just as you care for dry skin on the face, the scalp needs a soothing touch ... gentle cleansing and moisturising.
▪
Make sure you use a moisturising shampoo and conditioner for dry hair.
▪
Simply spray Hot Shapes on to clean, dry hair before setting to get instant hold with a glossy finish.
▪
Specific questioning showed symptoms of dry eyes and dry mouth.
▪
There may be a dry burning sensation; a dry mouth, ropy mucus, mouth ulcers.
froth at the mouth
▪
Access problems and the odd bolt on Lakeland mountain crags have had activists frothing at the mouth.
▪
He died at a friend's flat in Rock Ferry after going into convulsions and frothing at the mouth.
▪
He then started frothing at the mouth and had a fit.
▪
Hoomey thought he could easily start frothing at the mouth, the way his colour had drained.
▪
Mortally wounded, frothing at the mouth, grinding his teeth in pain, he chose the floor instead.
▪
Then, last June, she keeled over frothing at the mouth while out partying with pals in a London club.
▪
With a strangled, gargling shriek, Carradine fell over, frothing at the mouth, arms waving.
live from hand to mouth
▪
He lived from hand to mouth making instant resolves every time he opened his mail.
▪
Teacher To live from hand to mouth.
melt in your mouth
▪
Butter wouldn't melt in his mouth.
▪
Crisp, without the slightest hint of being greasy, it both crunches and melts in your mouth.
▪
From the look of her, butter wouldn't melt in her mouth!
▪
However, when you meet Sean Young she's disarmingly polite and looks as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth.
▪
She may look like a fire-breathing dragon, but butter wouldn't melt in her mouth.
▪
The meat is juicy and salty, peppery around the edges, and just soft enough to melt in your mouth.
▪
These eggs melt in your mouth.
mobile mouth/face/features
▪
He finds a woman in black lace, with piercing eyes and a mobile face.
▪
I finally found Martin Clunes, the most mobile mouth in show business, lurking behind a large moustache.
▪
They did not show emotions as plainly as more mobile faces did.
my heart was in my mouth
never/don't look a gift horse in the mouth
potty mouth
put words into sb's mouth
▪
I didn't mean that at all -- you're just putting words into my mouth!
▪
Stop putting words into my mouth - I never said I disliked the job.
▪
You're putting words into her mouth. You don't know what she thinks.
▪
Stop trying to put words into my mouth.
put your money where your mouth is
▪
It's time for the governor to put his money where his mouth is.
rosebud mouth/lips
▪
Corrie had a short, snub nose and rosebud mouth, and her eyes were a smoky grey.
▪
I looked down at the perfect rosebud lips, the determined chin and the tiny clenched fists of my cub.
▪
The rosebud mouth was painted a glowing coral pink, an exotic contrast with her creamy olive skin, liquid dark eyes.
run off at the mouth
▪
Boyd seems to enjoy running off at the mouth to the press.
▪
That never used to be a fault of his, running off at the mouth.
▪
To what smug labors and running off at the mouth!
shoot your mouth off
▪
All he did was shoot his mouth off a little.
▪
So you can't shoot your mouth off.
shut your mouth/face/trap!
take the words (right) out of sb's mouth
the roof of sb's mouth
▪
An' the third one's brain had bin pulverised - by a blow delivered through the roof of its mouth!
▪
Clench the jaws, as if chewing hard, while pushing your tongue hard against the roof of your mouth.
▪
Her tongue was glued to the roof of her mouth.
▪
I can eat no more of the wild rice which tastes nutty and clings to the roof of my mouth.
▪
I rubbed it across my tongue, the roof of my mouth, and I ground it between my teeth.
▪
It burns the roof of my mouth.
▪
My tongue froze to the roof of my mouth; my eyeballs dropped from their sockets and clattered at my feet.
▪
The brittle wafer dissolving against the roofs of their mouths was their promise of life in a world beyond Holy Hill.
wash your mouth out!
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
Babies put everything into their mouths.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
A grimace distorted her fine mouth .
▪
A smile tugged at his mouth .
▪
He kissed me full on the mouth , one hand at my back, the other straying to my behind.
▪
His mouth gaped and his hands flapped.
▪
The brittle wafer dissolving against the roofs of their mouths was their promise of life in a world beyond Holy Hill.
▪
The hair was already thinning and perhaps to compensate he had grown a luxuriant Groucho moustache which almost hid his mouth .
▪
Try to choose one small enough to go into your mouth whole.
II. verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
off
▪
Instead of quitting the music business she should have learned to use it for singing rather than mouthing off at every opportunity.
▪
Nine times out of 10, a coach cringes when one of his players mouths off about an opponent.
▪
When you are facing a crisis, it doesn't help when players start mouthing off .
■ NOUN
word
▪
Frankie glanced up to see her quietly mouthing the words as lights from the screen flickered across her face.
▪
Zack mouthed the words as I undressed him.
▪
Squirt was mouthing the words , looking down at the text, then up at Mulcahey.
▪
She began mouthing words in venomous silence; she clenched her fists in rage.
■ VERB
close
▪
The snap showed Jennifer with eyes closed and mouth wide open.
▪
She lay on her stomach, tangled in sheets, eyes closed and mouth open.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
(straight/right) from the horse's mouth
big mouth
▪
And to have a big mouth to project.
▪
But I kept my big mouth shut.
▪
Director Jafar Panahi clearly loves children for what they are, big mouths and all.
▪
I generally think of sushi as bite-sized, but at Sushi-Cho you need a big mouth to eat your sushi without embarrassment.
▪
If Britain is a body then Essex is the botty and Barnsley's the great big mouth.
▪
The final proof, or perhaps the first, is the chub's big mouth and thick white rubbery lips.
▪
To her sisters, she is simply a big mouth.
butter wouldn't melt in sb's mouth
curl of sb's lip/mouth
▪
David had always treated them with a superior curl of the lip.
dry mouth/skin/lips/hair etc
▪
Finesse's hairspray formulations are non-sticky, and yet give perfect control when applied to dry hair.
▪
For 24 hours a day, the irritation caused by severely dry skin verges on torture.
▪
In places the green is so thick on the page that it develops a gloss like the dried skin of oil paint.
▪
Just as you care for dry skin on the face, the scalp needs a soothing touch ... gentle cleansing and moisturising.
▪
Make sure you use a moisturising shampoo and conditioner for dry hair.
▪
Simply spray Hot Shapes on to clean, dry hair before setting to get instant hold with a glossy finish.
▪
Specific questioning showed symptoms of dry eyes and dry mouth.
▪
There may be a dry burning sensation; a dry mouth, ropy mucus, mouth ulcers.
mobile mouth/face/features
▪
He finds a woman in black lace, with piercing eyes and a mobile face.
▪
I finally found Martin Clunes, the most mobile mouth in show business, lurking behind a large moustache.
▪
They did not show emotions as plainly as more mobile faces did.
my heart was in my mouth
never/don't look a gift horse in the mouth
potty mouth
put words into sb's mouth
▪
I didn't mean that at all -- you're just putting words into my mouth!
▪
Stop putting words into my mouth - I never said I disliked the job.
▪
You're putting words into her mouth. You don't know what she thinks.
▪
Stop trying to put words into my mouth.
put your money where your mouth is
▪
It's time for the governor to put his money where his mouth is.
rosebud mouth/lips
▪
Corrie had a short, snub nose and rosebud mouth, and her eyes were a smoky grey.
▪
I looked down at the perfect rosebud lips, the determined chin and the tiny clenched fists of my cub.
▪
The rosebud mouth was painted a glowing coral pink, an exotic contrast with her creamy olive skin, liquid dark eyes.
take the words (right) out of sb's mouth
the roof of sb's mouth
▪
An' the third one's brain had bin pulverised - by a blow delivered through the roof of its mouth!
▪
Clench the jaws, as if chewing hard, while pushing your tongue hard against the roof of your mouth.
▪
Her tongue was glued to the roof of her mouth.
▪
I can eat no more of the wild rice which tastes nutty and clings to the roof of my mouth.
▪
I rubbed it across my tongue, the roof of my mouth, and I ground it between my teeth.
▪
It burns the roof of my mouth.
▪
My tongue froze to the roof of my mouth; my eyeballs dropped from their sockets and clattered at my feet.
▪
The brittle wafer dissolving against the roofs of their mouths was their promise of life in a world beyond Holy Hill.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
Dana rolled her eyes and mouthed, "I'm bored," from across the room.
▪
These men spent years mouthing the Communist party line.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
A man firing looked at him and mouthed something Stephen could not hear.
▪
He mouths something through the glass which she can not hear.
▪
Nine times out of 10, a coach cringes when one of his players mouths off about an opponent.
▪
She mouthed the name at Ottershaw, and he jerked his head towards the kitchen.
▪
She kissed and mouthed his belly, the firm cavity of the navel.