by word of mouth
Idioms-
see word of mouth.
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Orally, by one person telling another, as in They don't advertise; they get all their customers by word of mouth. [Mid-1500s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Their popularity has spread by word of mouth and by TikTokers who have ranked them among the city’s top Catholic parishes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026
The Prison Governors Association has said a surge in applications from west Africa appears to have been fuelled by word of mouth and jobs being promoted online by the expat Nigerian community.
From BBC ● Dec. 19, 2025
From there, stories of Nguyen’s firearms proficiency spread by word of mouth.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2024
Many attendees said they had learned about the event by word of mouth, often on WhatsApp groups with fellow immigrants.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 19, 2024
It also holds for restaurants, movies, fashion trends, or anything else that moves by word of mouth.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
