mouth
MOWTH
/maʊð/
To move the lips in imitation of speech without making any sound.
Implies silent communication, often across a distance or when silence is strictly required.
The story behind the word. Derived from the Old English noun 'mūþ' (mouth), the verb form evolved to describe the physical action of shaping words with the lips without using the lungs or vocal cords to produce sound.
Word relationships
- mimic: Mimic is to copy the actions or speech of others, while mouth is specifically to shape words with the lips silently.
- vocalize: Vocalize is to produce sound with the vocal cords, the opposite of silent mouthing.
Commonly confused with
- mumble: Mumble involves making low, indistinct sounds, while mouth involves making absolutely no sound at all.
Word family
- mouthing (noun): The act of moving the lips silently.
Collocations
- mouth the words
- mouth silently
- mouth a warning
Example sentences
- "I saw her mouth the words "help me" from across the noisy, crowded room, but I couldn't hear her." Communicating silently across a noisy room.
Memory hook
Imagine your mouth moving, but your voice is completely turned off. Mouth is silent lip-movement.
When not to use
Do not use if any sound, even a whisper, is actually produced.
Fun facts
- Actors in crowd scenes often 'mouth' random words like 'rhubarb' or 'peas and carrots' to look like they are talking without making noise.
Explore more words
enunciate, articulation, speechless, Communicate, dissemble, taciturn
Take your vocabulary further with LangBlitz
Our English vocabulary app: FSRS spaced repetition, 5,000+ curated words across 119 topic groups, CEFR A1 to C2. Explore your mastery with the beautiful Vocabulary World feature.