Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The amount of food or other material that can be placed or held in the mouth at one time.
  • noun A small amount to be tasted or eaten.
  • noun A long word, name, or phrase that is difficult to pronounce.
  • noun An important or perceptive remark.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun As much as the mouth will contain or as is put into the mouth at one time.
  • noun A small quantity.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun As much as is usually put into the mouth at one time.
  • noun Hence, a small quantity.
  • noun informal A statement that has a profound truth in it

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The amount that will fit in a mouth.
  • noun slang Quite a bit.
  • noun Something difficult to pronounce or say.
  • noun A tirade of abusive language (especially in the term "give someone a mouthful")

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a small amount eaten or drunk
  • noun the quantity that can be held in the mouth

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

mouth +‎ -ful

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Examples

  • Each mouthful is a special treat, bursting with moisture and flavor as you crush the papaya cube with your tongue.

    Magnificent Mexican Papaya 2006

  • Each mouthful is a special treat, bursting with moisture and flavor as you crush the papaya cube with your tongue.

    Magnificent Mexican Papaya 2006

  • But in the well-made cake, the plums are wisely scattered all through, and every mouthful is a pleasure.

    An Old-Fashioned Girl 1950

  • The pulp, a juicy mouthful, is sweet, and melts away in the mouth, leaving a single stone.

    Insulinde: Experiences of a Naturalist's Wife in the Eastern Archipelago 1887

  • I’ve always had a healthy handful, (any more than a handful or a mouthful is waste anyway … or so I’ve been told) but pregnant and nursing they get way out of hand. (ha ha) Now that my third and last child will probably be weaning soon, I expect the girls to travel even further south.

    Requiem For A Boob | Her Bad Mother 2009

  • The irrational fear that we don’t know where our next mouthful is coming from may make us hoard or overeat.

    Archive 2008-06-01 Another Outspoken Female 2008

  • People find my first name a mouthful but generally like it.

    When Mary Ain't Good Enough 2007

  • There is yet another fiber network, called a mouthful SEA-ME-WE-4, is being constructed to serve the booming Asian demand for bandwidth.

    Yet another fiber network 2004

  • A mouthful, that is, of nothing over which a blessing must be pronounced.

    From the Talmud and Hebraica 1602-1675 1979

  • No one can rid thee of that mouthful, which is as thy evil words returned to choke thee!

    St. George and St. Michael Volume III George MacDonald 1864

Comments

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  • No thanks, pottymouth.

    December 5, 2008

  • Got a troll in here, have we?

    December 5, 2008

  • Maybe chayce is channeling Cartman. Or maybe it's 8 years old. It's obviously rude and stoopid.

    December 5, 2008

  • Probably chayce doesn't have any testicles. Poor thing.

    December 5, 2008

  • It appears that chayce's testicles detach, somehow.

    December 17, 2008

  • The "yr mom" / "you 12 year old" paradox has broken my computer.

    December 17, 2008

  • HA HA HA!!! OMG, this is the funniest page ever!

    Skipvia, you 12 year old penios licker. HA HA HA!!!

    Cereal?! WTF?!

    Chayce, now we all know you don't have any testicles anymore--if you ever did.

    December 17, 2008

  • I deleted chayce the other week, but there was a bug that allowed him to still comment. I just fixed that, I think--trying to do anything from a nuked or frozen account should now send you here.

    December 17, 2008

  • *singing "Reciprocity"*

    December 17, 2008

  • Well taken, John. Still, I like the image of chayce's detachiballs...

    December 17, 2008

  • Wow. How'd that little neuticle get back in here? Thanks for the reciprocity, John. :-D

    December 17, 2008

  • Beautiful, John! I love the parable of the Good Samaritan -- it's probably my favorite. You are a kind and thoughtful man. Let's keep a good thought that somewhere, deep down inside of himself, chayce got it!

    December 17, 2008