noun
tongue
tuhng
noun
1
The flexible muscular organ in the mouth used for tasting, moving food, and forming speech sounds.
"He burned his tongue on the hot soup."
"She stuck her tongue out at her brother."
2
A language.
"French was her mother tongue."
"The old poem was written in a forgotten tongue."
3
A narrow strip of material or land, such as the flap in a shoe or a strip of land jutting into water.
"Tuck the tongue of the boot in before lacing it up."
How to Use Tongue
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe organ in your mouth for tasting and speaking, or, figuratively, a language or a narrow strip of something.
Easily confused with
Common pairings
mother tongue
bite your tongue
tongue-tied
on the tip of my tongue
Word Forms
tongued past tense, tongues plural, Tongues plural, tongues singular
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Etymology
From Old English tunge, from a Proto-Germanic root related to Latin lingua — a doublet of "language" and "lingua."