mouthful

American  

[mauth-fool] / ˈmaʊθˌfʊl /

noun

• mouthfuls
  plural

1. the amount a mouth can hold.

2. the amount taken into the mouth at one time.

3. a small quantity.

4. Informal. a spoken remark of great truth, relevance, effectiveness, etc..

   You said a mouthful!

5. a long word or group of words, especially one that is hard to pronounce.

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mouthful British  

/ ˈmaʊθˌfʊl /

noun

1. as much as is held in the mouth at one time

2. a small quantity, as of food

3. a long word or phrase that is difficult to say

4. informal an abusive response

5. informal an impressive remark (esp in the phrase say a mouthful )

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mouthful Idioms  

1. see say a mouthful.

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Spelling

See -ful.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• mouthfuls
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of mouthful

1375–1425; late Middle English. See mouth, -ful

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Explanation

A mouthful is an amount of some substance that can fit in a person's mouth. If you eat a mouthful of chocolate cream pie, you consume a bite of it. A mischievous kid might spit a mouthful of water at her sister, while a thirsty athlete might gulp a mouthful of water after her workout. In both cases, the mouthful is as much water as can fit in their mouths. If you're not very hungry for dinner, you might just have a few mouthfuls of mashed potatoes — just a few bites, in other words. Another kind of mouthful is a long, complicated word, phrase, or sentence.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mouthful mouthfuls

Several return trips later, Anthony now has a mouthful of impressive implants – and, unsurprisingly, he is all smiles.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

Delight in rituals that engage the senses, like slowly moving a mouthful of Champagne around your tongue, or lighting palo santo in the dark and letting its smoke envelop you.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

Sticky, translucent strings dangle from Wesley Smith's chopsticks as the American tourist relishes his natto, the loved-and-hated Japanese fermented soybean superfood going global one slimy mouthful at a time.

From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026

It took only a few words mumbled with a mouthful of burger for Tom Curtis to strike a blow against his biggest competitor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026

Plus, I still had a mouthful of braces, a nose my face would never grow into, and ears that stuck out if I didn't cover them up with my frizzy brown hair.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

During a recording session, Ms. Ackmann writes, “Dolly popped a pint of Häagen-Dazs into the microwave until it softened, then scooped out mouthfuls with a potato chip.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026

"If the trucks stop, a whole country will be switched off," he said, between mouthfuls of rice.

From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2025

"I'm changing the world," grinned Rodolphe Landemaine, between mouthfuls of a lovingly laminated, butter-free, pain au chocolat.

From BBC ● May 5, 2024

With bottles and glasses lined up before them, judges from several countries sampled various brands, swishing gulps of water and sometimes spitting mouthfuls into canisters, as wine tasters do.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 20, 2023

Each bird was no more than a few mouthfuls, hot, tasty, spiced with the oniony brown flavor.

From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich

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