mouthful

[mouth-foo l]

See more synonyms for mouthful on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural mouth·fuls.

the amount a mouth can hold.
the amount taken into the mouth at one time.
a small quantity.

Informal. a spoken remark of great truth, relevance, effectiveness, etc.: You said a mouthful!
a long word or group of words, especially one that is hard to pronounce.

Origin of mouthful

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

Usage note

See -ful.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for mouthful

taste, gulp, bite, piece, morsel

Examples from the Web for mouthful

Contemporary Examples of mouthful

It was 4:30 in the morning, I had a mouthful of blood and raw chicken and it just—you get yourself into a very strange place.
‘The Walking Dead’ Star Andrew Lincoln on the Terminus Cannibals Theory & Season Finale
Melissa Leon
March 31, 2014
The Swedish plane has got a mouthful of a name: the JAS 39E Gripen.
The Planet’s Best Stealth Fighter Isn’t Made in America
Bill Sweetman
March 24, 2014
It was a mouthful of a lesson, but after learning it once, you never had to memorize it again.
China’s Schools Teaches Kids to Take Tests, Obey the State, and Not Much More
Junheng Li
November 30, 2013
Food in Calabria was pride, self-sufficiency and community all mixed together in one mouthful.
A Young Chef Travels to Calabria, Italy, and Learns the Old Ways of Cooking
Curtis Stone
November 28, 2013
But also somebody who could handle a mouthful of exposition and make the words understandable and compelling.
Homeland’s Tracy Letts, Writer of ‘August: Osage County,’ Says Oscar Mania Is Frustrating
Jason Lynch
November 5, 2013

Historical Examples of mouthful

Wherever the grass was greenest, there she nibbled a mouthful or two.
Tanglewood Tales
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Can't you let other folks eat a mouthful before you have to have yours?
Tiverton Tales
Alice Brown
Roland spat out a mouthful of dust and swore beneath his breath.
The Fortune Hunter
Louis Joseph Vance
Well,” said Richards, with a mouthful of it, “I call it darn good.
The Long Labrador Trail
Dillon Wallace
I think I'll let him have a feed, and have a mouthful of bread and cheese myself.'
Wilfrid Cumbermede
George MacDonald

British Dictionary definitions for mouthful

mouthful

noun plural -fuls

as much as is held in the mouth at one time
a small quantity, as of food
a long word or phrase that is difficult to say
British informal an abusive response
informal, mainly US and Canadian an impressive remark (esp in the phrase say a mouthful)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for mouthful

1520s, "as much as a mouth can hold," from mouth (n.) + -ful. Meaning "a lot to say" is from 1748.

Idioms and Phrases with mouthful

mouthful

see say a mouthful.