word of mouth

noun

1. informal oral communication.

   The rumor spread rapidly by word of mouth.

Other Word Forms

• word-of-mouth adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of word of mouth¹

First recorded in 1545–55

Example Sentences

The first-generation underground churches of a half-century ago met in houses and undisclosed alleyway rooms, gathering by word of mouth.

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He too found the course through word of mouth.

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Once the script got into the studio system, there was word of mouth that people who are far more powerful than me were interested.

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"It was word of mouth. Ricky and his dad, Ray, would leave tickets in the local pubs and the landlord would sell them, he'd get a free one for doing the work."

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It’s traveling via word of mouth, theorizes Smith, because people today are increasingly searching for “connection and meaning.”

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