word-of-mouth

1 of 2

adjective

: orally communicated
also : generated from or reliant on oral publicity
word-of-mouth customers
a word-of-mouth business

word of mouth

2 of 2

noun phrase

: oral communication
especially : oral often inadvertent publicity

Examples of word-of-mouth in a Sentence

Adjective not having the money to run ads, the restaurant relies on word-of-mouth publicity
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The extent of One/Of’s marketing is through its social media account, and her business growth has been primarily driven by word-of-mouth — customers coming across a photo of one of her designs, which are also sold via wedding site Over the Moon, or through family or a friend. Kristen Tauer, WWD, 19 Sep. 2024 Conversations With Friends was a sleeper hit, picking up momentum in the year after it was published almost entirely because of word-of-mouth buzz. Kate Dwyer, TIME, 19 Sep. 2024
Noun phrase
The deal marks one of the key sales rights pick-ups on one of the films which is building strong word of mouth and anticipation before its world premiere at San Sebastian Film Festival, thanks to press and private screenings. John Hopewell, Variety, 17 Sep. 2024 In the beginning, the duo was happy when customers serendipitously discovered them, and for Pinch to organically grow through word of mouth alone. Alia Akkam, Architectural Digest, 17 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for word-of-mouth 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'word-of-mouth.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1817, in the meaning defined above

Noun Phrase

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of word-of-mouth was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near word-of-mouth

word of honor

word-of-mouth

word of mouth

Cite this Entry

“Word-of-mouth.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/word-of-mouth. Accessed 28 Sep. 2024.

Kids Definition

word of mouth

: spoken communication
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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