mouths

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of mouth.

   The dentist examined the children's mouths one by one.

   Several caves opened their dark mouths along the cliff face.

   Note

   The voiced plural: the th of the singular /maʊθ/ softens to /maʊðz/, a survival of an older pattern shared with paths and baths. The plural carries every meaning of the singular. Rivers have mouths where they meet the sea, caves and other openings have mouths, and in slang a group of loud talkers or gossips can be called mouths.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of mouth.

   The actor mouths his lines silently while the camera focuses elsewhere.

   Whenever the topic comes up, she just mouths the usual excuses.

   Note

   The verb shares its voiced ending with the noun plural, but its meanings pull in different directions. With words as its object, it can mean shaping them silently (she mouths "thank you") or declaiming them too loudly. With a thing as its object, it means handling something with the lips, as a dog mouths a toy without chewing it. The object usually tells you which meaning is intended.

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