Translate tongue | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish Definition of tongue
noun
1the fleshy muscular organ in the mouth of a mammal, used for tasting, licking, swallowing, and (in humans) articulating speech. the equivalent organ in other vertebrates, sometimes used (in snakes) as a scent organ or (in chameleons) for catching food. an analogous organ in insects, formed from some of the mouthparts and used in feeding. the tongue of a hoofed mammal, in particular an ox or lamb, as food. used in reference to a person’s style or manner of speaking:he was a redoubtable debater with a caustic tongue a particular language:the prioress chatted to the peddler in a strange tongue
2a thing resembling or likened to a tongue, in particular. a long, low promontory of land. a strip of leather or fabric under the laces in a shoe, attached only at the front end. a projecting strip on a wooden board fitting into a groove on another. the vibrating reed of a musical instrument or organ pipe. a jet of flame:a tongue of flame flashes four feet from the gun
verb (tongues, tonguing /ˈtəNGiNG/, tongued)
[with object] 1 Music sound (a note) distinctly on a wind instrument by interrupting the air flow with the tongue.
2lick or caress with the tongue:the other horse tongued every part of the colt’s mane
