I. mouth 1 S2 W1 /maʊθ/ BrE AmE noun ( plural mouths /maʊðz/) [countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: muth ]
1 . FACE the part of your face which you put food into, or which you use for speaking:
He lifted his glass to his mouth.
Liam was fast asleep with his mouth wide open.
2 . keep your mouth shut informal
a) to not tell other people about a secret:
He demanded £2,000 to keep his mouth shut.
b) to not say something even if you think it:
I wished that I’d kept my mouth shut.
3 . open your mouth to prepare to speak:
‘I’ll go,’ Travis said quickly before she could open her mouth.
open your mouth to say/speak/protest etc
Julia opened her mouth to reply, but they were interrupted.
4 . (you) watch your mouth spoken informal used to tell someone not to speak in such a rude way
5 . ENTRANCE the entrance to a large hole or ↑ cave :
As the train entered the mouth of the tunnel, the lights came on.
6 . RIVER the part of a river where it joins the sea:
the mouth of the River Tees
7 . BOTTLE/CONTAINER the open part at the top of a bottle or container
8 . big mouth informal if someone has a big mouth, they say too much or tell another person’s secrets
9 . me and my big mouth/you and your big mouth etc spoken used to criticize yourself or another person for saying something that should not have been said:
Oops, I shouldn’t have said that. Me and my big mouth.
10 . mouth to feed/hungry mouth someone who you must provide food for, especially one of your children:
To these parents, a new baby is just another hungry mouth.
11 . make your mouth water if food makes your mouth water, it smells or looks so good you want to eat it immediately:
The smell of the cooked fish made her mouth water.
⇨ ↑ mouth-watering
12 . down in the mouth informal unhappy:
Tim’s looking very down in the mouth.
13 . out of the mouths of babes (and sucklings) used humorously when a small child has just said something clever or interesting
14 . be all mouth British English spoken if someone is all mouth, they talk a lot about what they will do but are not brave enough to actually do it
⇨ be born with a silver spoon in your mouth at ↑ born 2 (8), ⇨ by word of mouth at ↑ word 1 (13), ⇨ be foaming at the mouth at ↑ foam 2 (2), ⇨ put your foot in your mouth at ↑ foot 1 (15), ⇨ put your money where your mouth is at ↑ money (18), ⇨ put words into sb’s mouth at ↑ word 1 (21), ⇨ shut your mouth at ↑ shut 1 (2), ⇨ shoot your mouth off at ↑ shoot 1 (12), ⇨ ↑ foul-mouthed , ↑ mealy-mouthed
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ open/shut/close your mouth
He opened his mouth wide so the doctor could examine his throat.
▪ cover your mouth
She laughed, covering her mouth with her hand.
▪ wipe your mouth
He laid down his fork and wiped his mouth.
▪ purse your mouth (=bring your lips tightly together, especially to show disapproval or worry)
Ian looked at her and pursed his mouth.
▪ kiss somebody on the mouth
She walked boldly up to him and kissed him on the mouth.
▪ sb’s mouth falls/drops open (=in surprise)
‘Me?’ she said, her mouth dropping open.
▪ sb’s mouth tightens written (=their lips are pressed tightly together, usually in anger)
‘You mean you knew about this?’ His mouth tightened.
▪ sb’s mouth twists written (=moves into an unhappy or angry expression)
His mouth twisted in a sneer.
■ adjectives
▪ dry (=especially because someone is nervous or ill)
My mouth was dry and my hands were shaking.
▪ a big/large/wide/small mouth
He had a big nose and a big mouth.
|
Billy’s wide mouth stretched into a grin.
▪ a generous mouth (=a large mouth that is attractive)
On her generous mouth was a smile.
▪ a full mouth (=with large attractive lips)
She had heavy-lidded eyes and a full mouth.
▪ a thin mouth (=with thin lips)
a woman with a sharp nose and a thin mouth
▪ a rosebud mouth (=a small red attractive mouth)
The girl had huge brown eyes and a rosebud mouth.
■ phrases
▪ the corner/side of your mouth
A smile lifted the corners of her mouth.
▪ the roof of your mouth (=the top inside part)
He made a clicking sound with his tongue on the roof of his mouth.
▪ with your mouth full (=with food in your mouth)
Don’t talk with your mouth full.
▪ with your mouth open
He chews with his mouth open.
▪ (with your) mouth agape written (=with your mouth open in surprise)
She stared at him, mouth agape.
• • •
THESAURUS
■ parts of a river
▪ mouth the part of a river where it joins the sea:
Havre-Marat was a port at the mouth of the River Seine.
▪ bank land along the side of a river:
the river bank
|
He owns a chateau on the banks of the River Loire.
▪ source the place where a river or stream starts:
The source of the River Nile was discovered by a British explorer, John Speke.
II. mouth 2 /maʊð/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
1 . to move your lips in the same way you do when you are saying words, but without making any sound:
She silently mouthed the words ‘Good luck’.
Philip mouthed something through the glass which she did not hear.
2 . to say things that you do not really believe or that you do not understand:
The players mouthed clichés about what they hoped to do at the World Cup.
They mouthed the usual platitudes.
mouth off phrasal verb informal
to complain angrily and noisily about something, or talk as if you know more than anyone else
mouth off at/to
You should have heard Pete mouthing off at Joe.
mouth off about
Morris was mouthing off about his former team.