mouthpart

[ mouth-pahrt ]

/ ˈmaʊθˌpɑrt /

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noun

Usually mouthparts. the appendages surrounding or associated with the mouth of arthropods.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of mouthpart

First recorded in 1790–1800; mouth + part

Words nearby mouthpart

mouthful, mouth harp, mouthing, mouth off, mouth organ, mouthpart, mouthpiece, mouth-to-mouth, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, mouthwash, mouth-watering

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use mouthpart in a sentence

Female offspring that inherit two copies of a broken doublesex gene develop mouthparts and genitalia that are closer to the male form.
Who decides whether to use gene drives against malaria-carrying mosquitoes?|Tina Hesman Saey|June 3, 2022|Science News
The researchers targeted genes that aid in the development of the the animal’s mouthparts and armor.
Biologists successfully hatched gene-edited ticks for the first time|Shi En Kim|February 16, 2022|Popular-Science
Frogs eat parasites and tiny creatures like ants that are too small for a tarantula to get their mouthparts around, but that can attack and eat a spider’s eggs.
Why some tiny frogs have tarantulas as bodyguards|PopSci Staff|January 19, 2022|Popular-Science
Their simple bodies have a tubelike shape with the mouthpart and tentacles at one end, and a “foot” that attaches to the surrounding rock or other solid surface at the other.
Hydras can regrow their heads. Scientists want to know how they do it.|Kate Baggaley|December 8, 2021|Popular-Science

However, both Oxitec and the EPA say the company is only releasing male mosquitoes, which lack the mouthparts to bite.
Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Have Come to the U.S. Will They Work?|Alejandro de la Garza / Florida Keys, Fl.|May 9, 2021|Time

British Dictionary definitions for mouthpart

mouthpart

/ (ˈmaʊθˌpɑːt) /

noun

any of the paired appendages in arthropods that surround the mouth and are specialized for feeding

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

Scientific definitions for mouthpart

mouthpart

[ mouth′pärt′ ]

Any of the parts of the mouth of an insect or other arthropod, especially a part or organ used for a specific way of feeding.