tongue

noun

/tʌŋ/

Idioms

[countable] the soft part in the mouth that moves around, used for tasting, swallowing, speaking, etc.舌；舌头
- He clicked his tongue to attract their attention.他咂嘴发出啧啧声以吸引他们的注意。
- She ran her tongue over her lips.她用舌头舔着嘴唇。
- It's very rude to stick your tongue out at people.向别人吐舌头是非常不礼貌的。
- The dog lay in a patch of shade with its tongue hanging out.那条狗躺在一块阴凉处，舌头耷拉在嘴外面。
- The snake's tongue flicked out of its mouth.那条蛇吐出芯子。
Topics Bodyb1
Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- long
- forked
- loose
- …
verb + tongue
- poke out
- put out
- stick out
- …
tongue + verb
- hang out
- flick
- flicker
- …
tongue + noun
- piercing
phrases
- a slip of the tongue
- be on the tip of your tongue
- get your tongue around something
- …
[uncountable, countable] the tongue of some animals, cooked and eaten口条
- a slice of ox tongue一片牛口条
Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- long
- forked
- loose
- …
verb + tongue
- poke out
- put out
- stick out
- …
tongue + verb
- hang out
- flick
- flicker
- …
tongue + noun
- piercing
phrases
- a slip of the tongue
- be on the tip of your tongue
- get your tongue around something
- …
[countable] (formal or literary) a language语言
- None of the tribes speak the same tongue.这些部落所说的语言都不相同。
- I tried speaking to her in her native tongue.我试着用她的本族语和她说话。
see also mother tongue
- The market place was full of people speaking many strange tongues.市场里挤满了操着多种陌生语言的人。
- She could hear men whispering in a foreign tongue.她能听到有人用外语在低声说话。
- She speaks English and Danish, though her native tongue is German.尽管她的母语是德语，她说英语和丹麦语。
Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- mother
- native
- common
- …
verb + tongue
- speak
preposition
- in a/the tongue
phrases
- speak in tongues
[singular] a particular way of speaking说话方式
- He has a sharp tongue.他说话尖酸刻薄。
- (formal) I'll thank you to keep a civil tongue in your head (= speak politely).请你说话讲究礼貌。
see also silver tongue
Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- long
- forked
- loose
- …
verb + tongue
- poke out
- put out
- stick out
- …
tongue + verb
- hang out
- flick
- flicker
- …
tongue + noun
- piercing
phrases
- a slip of the tongue
- be on the tip of your tongue
- get your tongue around something
- …
-tongued
(in adjectives构成形容词) speaking in the way mentioned有…说话方式的；说话…的
- sharp-tongued说话尖刻的
enlarge image
[countable] a long, narrow piece of leather under the laces on a shoe鞋舌
Topics Clothes and Fashionc2
[countable] tongue (of something) (literary) something that is long and narrow and like a tongue in shape舌状物
- a tongue of flame火舌

词源Old English tunge, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch tong, German Zunge, and Latin lingua.

Idioms

bite your tongue

to stop yourself from saying something that might upset somebody or cause an argument, although you want to speak隐忍不言（避免祸从口出）
- I didn't believe her explanation but I bit my tongue.我不相信她的解释，但我忍着没有说出来。
Topics Opinion and argumentc2

(has the) cat got your tongue?

(informal) said to somebody, especially a child, who stays silent when expected to speak, for example after being asked a question舌头：对某人说的，尤其是小孩，希望在讲话时保持沉默，例如在被问到问题后
- What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?发生了什么事?猫咬了你的舌头？

find your voice/tongue

to be able to speak or express your opinion能说出自己的看法；能表达自己的意见Topics Opinion and argumentc2

get your tongue around/round something

to pronounce a difficult word correctly正确发出（难读单词）的音
- He was having trouble getting his tongue around my name.他念我的名字有困难。

have a loose tongue

to talk too much, especially about things that are private（尤指对隐私）多嘴，饶舌

hold your tongue/peace

(old-fashioned) to say nothing although you would like to give your opinion忍住不说；保持缄默

loosen somebody’s tongue

to make somebody talk more freely than usual使无拘束地说话；使自由自在地说
- A bottle of wine had loosened Harry's tongue.一瓶酒下肚，哈里的话匣子便打开了。

on the tip of your tongue

if a word or name is on the tip of your tongue, you are sure that you know it but you cannot remember it话在嘴边上（却一时想不起来）

roll/slip/trip off the tongue

to be easy to say or pronounce容易说（或发音）；顺口
- It's not a name that exactly trips off the tongue, is it?这个名字叫起来拗口，是不是？

set tongues wagging | tongues are wagging

(informal) to cause people to start talking/people are talking about somebody’s private affairs惹得满城风雨；使议论纷纷；招闲话
- His sudden resignation set tongues wagging.他的突然辞职引起了人们的议论。
- This is a small island and tongues are beginning to wag.这是一个小岛, 人们开始议论纷纷。

a slip of the pen/tongue

a small mistake in something that you write or say笔误；口误
- Did I call you Richard? Sorry, Robert, just a slip of the tongue.我刚才是不是叫你理查德了？对不起，罗伯特，我是一时口误。
- I didn't mean to say that—it was just a slip of the tongue.我并非那个意思，只是口误罢了。

watch your mouth/tongue

to be careful what you say in order not to offend somebody or make them angry说话当心；嘴上留个把门的

with your tongue in your cheek | with tongue in cheek

if you say something with your tongue in your cheek, you are not being serious and mean it as a joke说说而已；半开玩笑地