Definition
nounThe front opening of a creature through which food is ingested.
nounThe end of a river out of which water flows into a sea or other large body of water; or the end of a tributary out of which water flows into a larger river.
Sentence Examples
You took the words right out of my mouth.
Cover your mouth when you cough, sneeze, or yawn.
She opened her mouth to say something.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English mouth, from Old English mūþ, from Proto-West Germanic *munþ, from Proto-Germanic *munþaz (“mouth”), from Proto-Indo-European *ment- (“to chew; jaw, mouth”).
Cognate with Scots mooth (“mouth”), North Frisian mös, müs, Mür (“mouth”), West Frisian mûn (“mouth”), Dutch mond (“mouth”), muide (“river mouth”) and mui (“riptide”), German Mund (“mouth”), Luxembourgish Mond (“mouth”), Danish mund (“mouth”), Faroese muður, munnur (“mouth”), Icelandic munnur (“mouth”), Swedish mun (“mouth”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk munn (“mouth”), Gothic 𐌼𐌿𐌽𐌸𐍃 (munþs, “mouth”), Latin mentum (“chin”) and mandō (“to chew”), Ancient Greek μάσταξ (mástax, “jaws, mouth”) and μασάομαι (masáomai, “to chew”), Albanian mjekër (“chin, beard”), Welsh mant (“jawbone”), Hittite 𒈨𒂊𒉌𒄿 (me-e-ni-i /mēni/, “face, cheek”). The verb is from Middle English mouthen, from the noun.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"I made a speaking trumpet of my hands and commenced to whoop “Ahoy!” and “Hello!” at the top of my lungs. […] The Colonel woke up, and, after asking what in brimstone was the matter, opened his mouth and roared “Hi!” and “Hello!” like the bull of Bashan."
— 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
"The Yalu is mainly useful in floating down immense rafts of wood, which find their way from the town of Antung, at the mouth of the river, to the port of Newchwang, and to Chefoo and Tientsin for the provinces of Shantung and Chihli."
— 1895 May, John Ross, “Manchuria”, in The Scottish Geographical Magazine, volume XI, number V, Edinburgh: Royal Scottish Geographical Society, →ISSN, →OCLC, pages 220–221:
"But come, Lady, we are too near the mouth of the cavern; let us seek its inmost recesses."
— 1764, Horace Walpole, The Castle of Otranto:
"‘It was called the wickedest street in London and the entrance was just here. I imagine the mouth of the road lay between this lamp standard and the second from the next down there.’"
— 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 1, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
"But why give a tunnel mouth any decoration whatsoever?"
— 2020 August 26, Tim Dunn, “Great railway bores of our time!”, in Rail, page 42: