mouthful
part of speech
noun (a mouthful, mouthfuls)
meaning for a pupil
1) The amount of food or drink that fills your mouth or that you put in at one time. tree →
2) (informal) A long word or name that is hard to say: «mastication» is a mouthful. tree →
3) (informal) give someone a mouthful: to say rude or angry words to them (UK). tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday life: «don't talk with a mouthful of food». In jokes, a long word is «a bit of a mouthful». In UK slang, «I got a mouthful from the neighbour» means you got shouted at. Phrases: a mouthful of, a bit of a mouthful, give someone a mouthful.
examples
- Don't talk with your mouth full — swallow that mouthful first! tree →
- He took a big mouthful of cake. tree →
- Just have one mouthful of broccoli. tree →
- Her full name is a real mouthful. tree →
- «Meteorological» is a bit of a mouthful. tree →
- The old man gave the boys a mouthful for kicking the ball into his garden. tree →
- I swallowed a mouthful of sea water. tree →
- Take small mouthfuls so you don't choke. tree →
- ‘Oh! what a mouthful of great white teeth you have, Grandmother!’ tree →
note
Countable: mouthfuls. Spelled with one l: mouthful (like spoonful, handful). Safety: small mouthfuls help prevent choking.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «mouthful» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.