mouth
/maʊθ/ (bre, ipa) · /maʊθ/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈmau̇th/ (ame, mw) · /maʊð/ (bre, ipa) · /maʊð/ (ame, ipa)
mouth — 名詞
1. the part of the face that you use for eating, drinking, speaking, and breathing
嘴巴；口
臉部用於進食、說話的器官
the part of the face that you use for eating, drinking, speaking, and breathing — it includes the lips, the space behind them, the teeth, the tongue, and the area at the back of the throat where food goes down
Nellie opened her mouth wide so the dentist could check her teeth.
Nellie 張大她的嘴巴，好讓牙醫檢查她的牙齒。
collocation: open one's mouth wide
The doctor asked the child to open his mouth and say Aah.
醫生叫孩子張開嘴巴，說「啊——」。
Hari covered his mouth with both hands when he sneezed loudly.
Hari 大聲打噴嚏時用雙手摀住嘴巴。
A warm piece of bread with butter melted in her mouth.
一塊溫熱的麵包加上奶油，在她嘴裡融化了。
Always breathe through your nose and not your mouth while running.
跑步時記得用鼻子呼吸，不要用嘴巴。
常見錯誤
2. the open end or entrance of something hollow or narrow — like a bottle top, the
開口；口部
容器、洞穴或河流的入口處
the open end or entrance of something hollow or narrow — like a bottle top, the opening into a cavern, or the location where a river meets the sea
The mouth of the cave was hidden behind a thick curtain of hanging vines.
洞穴的入口被一層厚厚的藤蔓簾幕遮住了。
collocation: mouth of the cave
Tuan carefully poured water into the mouth of the narrow glass bottle.
Tuan 小心地將水倒入窄玻璃瓶的瓶口。
collocation: mouth of the bottle / container
The Mississippi River has a very wide mouth where it meets the Gulf of Mexico.
密西西比河的河口非常寬闊，匯入墨西哥灣。
Paloma could see sunlight at the mouth of the tunnel up ahead.
Paloma 可以看到前方隧道口處有陽光。
The bag had a small tear near its mouth, so rice kept spilling out.
袋子的開口附近有一個小裂縫，所以米一直灑出來。
用法筆記
Nearly always follows 'the mouth of [something]' — the noun that names the container, cave, tunnel, or river comes after 'of'. Frequently used in geographic descriptions (river mouths) and container references (bottle mouths).
3. any person in a group that you must provide with food, especially when talking a
需要養活的人
需要被供給食物的人
any person in a group that you must provide with food, especially when talking about how many dependents you are responsible for supporting
With five hungry mouths to feed, the family had to budget very carefully.
家裡有五張嗷嗷待哺的嘴要養，一家人不得不仔細規劃預算。
fixed phrase: mouths to feed
Jabari took extra shifts because he has three more mouths to feed now.
Jabari 接下更多加班，因為他現在多了三張嘴要養。
The charity helped poor families who had many mouths to feed and little income.
這家慈善機構幫助那些人口眾多但收入微薄的家庭。
Every extra mouth at the dinner table meant less food for everyone else.
餐桌旁每多一張嘴，就代表其他人分到的食物更少了。
The village counted over two hundred mouths to feed after the storm destroyed their crops.
暴風雨摧毀農作物後，全村統計共有兩百多張嘴要養。
用法筆記
Almost always used in the fixed phrase 'mouth(s) to feed' — rarely appears outside this expression. The focus is on the cost or burden of providing food, not on the person as an individual.
mouth — 動詞
1. to move your lips to form words so that someone can see what you are saying, but
無聲地說
只動嘴唇而不發出聲音
to move your lips to form words so that someone can see what you are saying, but no sound comes out — often used in quiet places where speaking aloud is not allowed, or when practising what you plan to say later
Nellie mouthed 'thank you' to the driver as the bus pulled away.
Nellie 對著司機無聲地說「謝謝你」，公車正好駛離。
mouth + direct speech / quoted words
From across the library, Yael mouthed the words 'are you okay' and Tuan nodded quietly.
Yael 從圖書館的另一頭無聲地用嘴型問「你還好嗎」，Tuan 靜靜地點了點頭。
The singer stood backstage and mouthed along to her own recording.
那位歌手站在舞台後面，對著自己的錄音對嘴。
During the exam, a teacher caught a student mouthing answers to a friend.
考試期間，老師抓到一名學生隔著教室對朋友無聲地傳答案。
Hari mouthed the song lyrics under his breath during the quiet part of the concert.
演唱會進行到比較安靜的部分時，Hari 低聲地跟著歌詞對嘴。
- whisper
uses breath and produces some sound, unlike mouthing which is completely silent
文法句型
mouth + words / speech
用法筆記
The thing being said is usually given as quoted speech or a noun phrase immediately after 'mouth'. The object can be simple ('thank you', 'sorry') or a complete sentence. Often used in quiet settings where speaking aloud would be noticed.
常見錯誤
2. to say the words of a statement or opinion without meaning them or understanding
言不由衷地說
說出正確的話語但並非真心
to say the words of a statement or opinion without meaning them or understanding them — just repeating the correct phrases without true commitment
The politician mouthed the usual promises about lower taxes, but no one believed him.
那位政治人物照本宣科地說著關於降低稅收的老套承諾，但沒有人相信他。
mouth + empty promises / phrases
Folake mouthed the company mission statement during training, though she disagreed with half of it.
Folake 在培訓時照著公司使命宣言唸了一遍，儘管她並不認同其中一半的內容。
Students in the back row just mouthed the answers without actually studying the material.
後排的學生只是照著唸出答案，根本沒有真正讀過教材。
Christopher mouthed apologies to everyone he had offended, but his eyes showed no regret.
Christopher 向他冒犯過的每個人道了歉，但眼神裡看不出任何悔意。
The witness mouthed the words the lawyer had told her to say, without understanding their meaning.
證人照著律師教她說的話複誦了一遍，卻不明白那些話的意思。
文法句型
mouth + words / phrases
用法筆記
This sense carries a critical or dismissive tone — the speaker is saying the right words but does not believe in them. The object is typically something formulaic: promises, slogans, mission statements, apologies, or other set phrases. Not used for spontaneous speech.