DictionaryAI

tongue

TUNG/tʌŋ/

Pluraltongues

Verbtongues, tonguing, tongued

30 meanings of tongue

Practice

  1. 1
    taste organnouncountable
    The soft, movable part inside your mouth that helps you taste, eat, and talk.

    The doctor asked her to stick out her tongue.

    He burned his tongue on the hot soup.

    UsageIt rhymes with young. Spell the end -ongue (not incorrect: tounge).

    Note
  2. 2
    nounmetonymicallycountable
    A language that a group of people speak.

    English is not her first tongue.

    They spoke in a tongue I had never heard.

    UsageMost common in native tongue and mother tongue.

    Similarlanguage, lingo, idiom

    Note
  3. 3
    organ meatnoununcountable
    Meat made from the tongue of an animal, often a cow.

    We ordered tongue with mustard at the deli.

    Grandma served sliced tongue at dinner.

    UsageFor the meat you eat, say just tongue: we had tongue for lunch.

    Note
  4. 4
    shoe flapnouncountable
    The soft flap inside a shoe that sits under the laces, on top of your foot.

    The tongue of my sneaker kept sliding to one side.

    She tightened the laces over the padded tongue.

  5. 5
    nouncountable
    A way of speaking, especially one a person uses often.

    She has a sharp tongue and often hurts people's feelings.

    His gentle tongue calmed the frightened child.

    UsageOften with a word like sharp: she has a sharp tongue.

    Note
  6. 6
    nouncountable or uncountable
    The ability to speak, or the way words flow when someone speaks.

    He was so surprised that he couldn't find his tongue.

    She finally found her tongue and answered the question.

    UsageOften in hold your tongue, which means stop talking.

    Similarvoice, speech

    Note
  7. 7
    worship speechnounusually plural
    Speech during worship in sounds or a language the speaker never learned, believed to be a gift from God.

    During worship, she prayed in a tongue she had never learned.

    At the church meeting, some people began to speak in tongues.

    UsageMost often in speak in tongues.

    Similarglossolalia

    Note
  8. 8
    lick (sexual)verbslangvulgartransitive
    To lick or touch someone with your tongue while kissing or having sex.

    A couple was tonguing each other at the back of the bus.

    He likes to tongue her neck when they kiss.

    Similarlick

    Note
  9. 9
    sticking-out partnouncountable
    A thin part that sticks out from something, like the pin of a buckle or the edge of a floorboard.

    Like a small strip that sticks out from the edge of something bigger.

    The little tongue on the lock slid into the door frame.

    A thin tongue of metal held the lid shut.

    Similarprojection

  10. 10
    cart polenouncountable
    The long pole at the front of a cart or trailer, used to pull it.

    Like the long handle on a toy wagon that you pull it by.

    The farmer hooked the oxen to the wooden tongue of the cart.

    The farmer hitched both horses to the wagon's tongue.

    Similarpole, shaft, drawbar

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of tongue apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

It comes from Old English tunge, going far back to a very old root shared by many languages. The spelling with 'ue' at the end was added later.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts