verb
badmouth
BAD-mowth
verb
1
To criticize or speak ill of someone, often unfairly or behind their back.
"She never badmouths her coworkers, even when they annoy her."
"He got fired for badmouthing the company on social media."
How to Use Badmouth
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishTo talk negatively about someone, usually to damage their reputation.
When to use it
Informal; more common in speech than in formal writing.
Common pairings
badmouth someone
badmouth a company
Word Forms
badmouthed past tense, badmouths singular
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Etymology
Believed to be a loan translation of a West African expression for harmful gossip, which entered English through the Gullah language of the American South.
Rhymes for badmouth
south
mouth
youth
uncouth
vermouth
Plymouth
Falmouth
bigmouth
loudmouth
Dartmouth
Portsmouth
Bournemouth
See all rhymes for badmouth →