bad-mouth

verb

ˈbad-ˌmau̇th How to pronounce bad-mouth (audio)
-ˌmau̇t͟h
bad-mouthed; bad-mouthing; bad-mouths

transitive verb

: to criticize severely

Examples of bad-mouth in a Sentence

she promptly bad-mouthed that awful movie to everyone she knew
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
John Legend isn't about to let anyone bad-mouth the people in his hometown of Springfield, Ohio. Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 13 Sep. 2024 He was eventually allowed in — but only after other SEALs threatened to leave and bad-mouth the bar. Brian Murphy, Washington Post, 21 June 2024 Sabatini, a former state rep, has kissed up slavishly to Donald Trump, often by repeatedly bad-mouthing fellow Republicans — including Ron DeSantis — in an effort to curry favor with the former president. Scott Maxwell, Orlando Sentinel, 17 June 2024 Falsified emails get dispersed to bad-mouth programs. Ethan Fuller, BostonGlobe.com, 12 June 2023 BlenderBot 3 is still available online, despite it bad-mouthing Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and saying all kinds of offensive things. Emma Roth, The Verge, 5 Mar. 2023 Such agreements, including broad nondisparagement and confidentiality requirements, are widely used in layoffs or workplace legal disputes as a way for employers to ensure that employees won’t bad-mouth the company after the ink dries. Taylor Telford, Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1941, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bad-mouth was in 1941

Dictionary Entries Near bad-mouth

Cite this Entry

“Bad-mouth.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bad-mouth. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

bad-mouth

verb
-ˌmau̇th,
-ˈmaut͟h
: to say bad things about
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