mouth

mouth

I. mouth¹ 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 ↑born²(8), ⇨ by word of mouth at ↑word¹(13), ⇨ be foaming at the mouth at ↑foam²(2), ⇨ put your foot in your mouth at ↑foot¹(15), ⇨ put your money where your mouth is at ↑money(18), ⇨ put words into sb’s mouth at ↑word¹(21), ⇨ shut your mouth at ↑shut¹(2), ⇨ shoot your mouth off at ↑shoot¹(12), ⇨ ↑foul-mouthed, ↑mealy-mouthed
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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.
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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.