tongue

[ tuhng ]

noun

1. Anatomy. the usually movable organ in the floor of the mouth in humans and most vertebrates, functioning in eating, in tasting, and, in humans, in speaking.
2. Zoology. an analogous organ in invertebrate animals.
3. the tongue of an animal, as an ox, beef, or sheep, used for food, often prepared by smoking or pickling.
4. the human tongue as the organ of speech:

   No tongue must ever tell the secret.

5. the faculty or power of speech:

   a sight no tongue can describe.

6. speech or talk, especially mere glib or empty talk.
7. manner or character of speech:

   a flattering tongue.

8. the language of a particular people, region, or nation:

   the Hebrew tongue.

9. a dialect.
10. (in the Bible) a people or nation distinguished by its language.
11. tongues, speech, often incomprehensible, typically uttered during moments of religious ecstasy. Compare speaking in tongues, glossolalia.
12. an object that resembles an animal's tongue in shape, position, or function.
13. a strip of leather or other material under the lacing or fastening of a shoe.
14. a piece of metal suspended inside a bell that strikes against the side producing a sound; clapper.
15. a vibrating reed or similar structure in a musical instrument, as in a clarinet, or in part of a musical instrument, as in an organ reed pipe.
16. the pole extending from a carriage or other vehicle between the animals drawing it.
17. a projecting strip along the center of the edge or end of a board, for fitting into a groove in another board.
18. a narrow strip of land extending into a body of water; cape.
19. a section of ice projecting outward from the submerged part of an iceberg.
20. Machinery. a long, narrow projection on a machine.
21. that part of a railroad switch that is shifted to direct the wheels of a locomotive or car to one or the other track of a railroad.
22. the pin of a buckle, brooch, etc.

verb (used with object)

, tongued, tongu·ing.

1. to articulate (tones played on a clarinet, trumpet, etc.) by strokes of the tongue.
2. Carpentry.
   1. to cut a tongue on (a board).
   2. to join or fit together by a tongue-and-groove joint.
3. to touch with the tongue.
4. to articulate or pronounce.
5. Archaic.
   1. to reproach or scold.
   2. to speak or utter.

verb (used without object)

, tongued, tongu·ing.

1. to tongue tones played on a clarinet, trumpet, etc.
2. to talk, especially idly or foolishly; chatter; prate.
3. to project like a tongue.

tongue

/ tʌŋ /

noun

1. a movable mass of muscular tissue attached to the floor of the mouth in most vertebrates. It is the organ of taste and aids the mastication and swallowing of food. In man it plays an important part in the articulation of speech sounds glotticlingual
2. an analogous organ in invertebrates
3. the tongue of certain animals used as food
4. a language, dialect, or idiom

   the English tongue

5. the ability to speak

   to lose one's tongue

6. a manner of speaking

   a glib tongue

7. utterance or voice (esp in the phrase give tongue )
8. plural See gift of tongues
9. anything which resembles a tongue in shape or function

   a tongue of flame

   a tongue of the sea

10. a promontory or spit of land
11. a flap of leather on a shoe, either for decoration or under the laces or buckles to protect the instep
12. music the reed of an oboe or similar instrument
13. the clapper of a bell
14. the harnessing pole of a horse-drawn vehicle
15. a long and narrow projection on a machine or structural part that serves as a guide for assembly or as a securing device
16. a projecting strip along an edge of a board that is made to fit a corresponding groove in the edge of another board
17. hold one's tongue
    to keep quiet
18. on the tip of one's tongue
    about to come to mind

    her name was on the tip of his tongue

19. with one's tongue in one's cheek or tongue in cheek
    with insincere or ironical intent

verb

1. to articulate (notes played on a wind instrument) by the process of tonguing
2. tr to lick, feel, or touch with the tongue
3. tr carpentry to provide (a board) with a tongue
4. intr (of a piece of land) to project into a body of water
5. obsolete.
   tr to reproach; scold

tongue

/ tŭng /

1. A muscular organ in most vertebrates that is usually attached to the bottom of the mouth. In snakes, the tongue is used as a sense organ. In frogs, the tongue is chiefly used to capture prey. In mammals, the tongue is the main organ of taste and is an important organ of digestion. In humans, the tongue is used to produce speech.
2. A similar organ in certain invertebrate animals.

Derived Forms

• ˈtongueˌlike, adjective
• ˈtongueless, adjective

Other Words From

• tongueless adjective
• tonguelike adjective
• outtongue verb (used with object) outtongued outtonguing
• un·tongued adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tongue¹

before 900; (noun) Middle English tunge, Old English; cognate with Dutch tong, German Zunge, Old Norse tunga, Gothic tuggo; akin to Latin lingua (OL dingua ); (v.) Middle English tungen to scold, derivative of the noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of tongue¹

Old English tunge; related to Old Saxon, Old Norse tunga, Old High German zunga, Latin lingua

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. (with) tongue in cheek, ironically or mockingly; insincerely.
2. find one's tongue, to regain one's powers of speech; recover one's poise:

   She wanted to say something, but couldn't find her tongue.

3. give tongue,
   1. Fox Hunting. (of a hound) to bay while following a scent.
   2. to utter one's thoughts; speak:

      He wouldn't give tongue to his suspicions.

4. hold one's tongue, to refrain from or cease speaking; keep silent.
5. lose one's tongue, to lose the power of speech, especially temporarily.
6. on the tip of one's / the tongue,
   1. on the verge of being uttered.
   2. unable to be recalled; barely escaping one's memory:

      The answer was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't think of it.

7. slip of the tongue, a mistake in speaking, as an inadvertent remark.

More idioms and phrases containing tongue

• bite one's tongue
• cat got someone's tongue
• hold one's tongue
• keep a civil tongue
• on the tip of one's tongue
• slip of the lip (tongue)

Example Sentences

Ms Logan said that Lily's injuries included a broken jaw, a split tongue and four breaks in her spine, which meant that she cannot be moved from hospital.

From BBC

So it needed to convince home cooks to give up their steaks, chops and roasts in favor of what it called variety meats: kidneys, liver, tongue and so on.

From Salon

Even the language they use to denounce them, French, is a foreign tongue and not one endemic to Dahomey.

From Los Angeles Times

The actor learned the foreign tongue well enough to hold his own in multiple scenes with Mara in just three months.

From Los Angeles Times

There are some handshakes before Khal talks to the waitress in German and then switches back to Arabic, his native tongue.

From BBC

Related Words

• dialect
• voice

How Do You Spell Tounge?

Spelling tips for tongue

The word tongue is so commonly misspelled as tounge that we’ve left it that way in the heading above so that this answer will be easier to find! Many people often misspell it this way (by placing the u after the o instead of after the g) because of how it is pronounced: [ tuhng ].

How to spell tongue: To remember how to spell tongue, keep in mind the phrase “My tongue felt a ton of fatigue.” This indicates that the first syllable of tongue is spelled ton, and the second syllable is spelled -gue like the end of fatigue.