tongue
tongue Lexical Profile
tongue Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The fleshy, movable, muscular organ in the mouth of most vertebrates, used for tasting, licking, swallowing, and articulating speech.
"The doctor asked the patient to stick out his tongue and say "ah.""
The language or dialect spoken by a particular people.
"She addressed the international conference in her native tongue."
A long, narrow piece of something, such as a strip of land projecting into a body of water or the strip of material under the laces of a shoe.
"He pulled up the tongue of his sneaker before tying the laces tightly."
• verb
To sound a musical note on a wind instrument by interrupting the stream of air with the tongue.
"The flute teacher reminded the student to tongue each note clearly during the staccato passage."
To touch, lick, or clean with the tongue.
"The cow stood in the pasture, gently tonguing its newborn calf."
• Rhymes for tongue
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'tunge', of Germanic origin; related to Dutch 'tong' and German 'Zunge', from an Indo-European root shared by Latin 'lingua'.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.