Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use tongue in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun, verb

Tongue means the flexible muscular organ in the mouth that is used to move food around, for tasting and that is moved into various positions to modify the flow of air from the lungs in order to produce different sounds in speech. Example: “He was speaking in his native tongue.”

Examples of tongue by meaning

nounSuch an organ, as taken from animals and used for food (especially from cows).

  • cold tongue with mustard
  • However you eat them, tongue and chicken and new bread are very good things, and no one minds being sprinkled a little with soda-water on a really fine hot day.1902, E. Nesbit, chapter 4, in Five Children and It, New York: Dodd, Mead, published 1905, page 136

nounA language.

  • He was speaking in his native tongue.
  • If you do not speak English I am at your disposal with 187 other languages along with their various dialects and sub-tongues.1956, Cyril Hume, Forbidden Planet, spoken by Robby the Robot
  • Many of them come from distant places and although they speak your tongue they are ignorant of your customs.1958 June 17, Chinua Achebe, chapter 23, in Things Fall Apart, New York, N.Y.: Astor-Honor, published 1959, →OCLC, part 2, page 200

nounA manner of speaking, often habitually.

  • She can have a sharp tongue when she's annoyed.
  • I’m afraid I’ve inherited my uncle’s tongue and my mother’s want of tact.1935, Dorothy L. Sayers, chapter 8, in Gaudy Night, London: New English Library, published 1970, page 205
  • It was the sweetness of his tongue and the tenderness of his soul.1952, John Steinbeck, East of Eden, London: Heinemann, Part 1, Chapter 2, p. 8

nounThe power of articulate utterance; speech generally.

  • I was so overwhelmed my tongue deserted me.

nounIn a shoe, the flap of material that goes between the laces and the foot (so called because it resembles a tongue in...

  • I caught a glimpse of a brown boot, the tongue flapping, the sole tied on with string.1990, J. M. Coetzee, chapter 3, in Age of Iron, New York: Random House, page 96

nounA projection, or slender appendage or fixture.

  • the tongue of a buckle, or of a balance

nounThe pole of a towed or drawn vehicle or farm implement (e.g., trailer, cart, plow, harrow), by which it is pulled; for...

  • Far to the right, where the main pile sloped out, his cart reared tongue upward, like a plow.1986, Hortense Calisher, The Bobby-Soxer, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, page 91

verbOn a wind instrument, to articulate a note by starting the air with a tap of the tongue, as though by speaking a 'd' or...

  • Playing wind instruments involves tonguing on the reed or mouthpiece.

More sentences with tongue

  • His mother tongue is Italian, but he also knows French and English.From the entry know
  • I like to let my tea cool before drinking it so I don't burn my tongue.From the entry cool
  • When a dog pants, its tongue often hangs out of its mouth.From the entry hang out
  • It was an unfortunate slip of the tongue, and he did not intend it that way.From the entry slip of the tongue
  • I told them the pie was still too hot. If they burn their tongues, that's their fault.From the entry fault
  • Her name is on the tip of my tongue: it's Kathy, or Karen, or something.From the entry on the tip of one's tongue
  • I don't like his political ideas, but I will hold my tongue.From the entry hold one's tongue
  • An anteater is an insectivore with a long sticky tongue to catch its prey.From the entry insectivore
  • The rolled r sound of Spanish can be created with a flutter of the tongue.From the entry flutter
  • He was an eloquent speaker, and his slip of the tongue was a one-time error.From the entry one-time
  • Why won't you tell me that secret? (Has the) cat got your tongue?From the entry cat got someone's tongue
  • GVWR includes the weight of the vehicle itself plus fuel, passengers, cargo, and trailer tongue weight.From the entry gross vehicle weight rating
  • He had a cutting retort on the tip of his tongue, but he choked it back.From the entry choke back
  • The aardvark burrows in the ground and feeds mostly on termites, which it catches with its long, slimy tongue.From the entry aardvark
  • She's a real gossip: her tongue is always wagging.From the entry wag
  • My mother clucked her tongue in disapproval.From the entry cluck
  • Can you believe he pierced his tongue?From the entry pierce
  • His mother tongue is a relatively conservative dialect of Aramaic.From the entry mother tongue
  • Humans have three oral frenulums: beneath the tongue, between the upper lip and gum, and between the lower lip and gum.From the entry frenulum
  • He stuck out his tongue at me.From the entry stick out
  • The class clown stuck her tongue out at her classmate.From the entry stick one's tongue out
  • The tendency of the nervous horse to loll his tongue can often be cured by the use of the "tongue-lolling bit."From the entry tongue-lolling bit
  • Flamingo tongues were considered a delicacy in Ancient Rome.From the entry flamingo tongue
  • The hounds gave tongue as they scented the fox nearby.From the entry give tongue
  • She felt unable to give tongue to her feelings.From the entry give tongue
  • Edward's maiden aunt was a vinegary old soul with a sharp tongue and quick temper; she would not be receiving a wedding invitation.From the entry vinegary
  • Made from iron, it had spikes across the tongue and acted as a muzzle.2024 June 4, Flavia Kate Peters, Barbara Meiklejohn-Free, 2025 Witch's Diary - Northern Hemisphere: Seasonal Planner to Reclaiming the…. From the entry witch's bridle

Meaning of tongue

  1. noun The flexible muscular organ in the mouth that is used to move food around, for tasting and that is moved into various positions to modify the flow of air from the lungs in order to produce different sounds in speech.
  2. noun Such an organ, as taken from animals and used for food (especially from cows).
  3. noun Any similar organ, such as the lingual ribbon, or odontophore, of a mollusk; the proboscis of a moth or butterfly; or the lingua of an insect.

Full definition of tongue

Questions about tongue in a sentence

How do you use tongue in a sentence?
Tongue is used as a noun and verb. For example: “He was speaking in his native tongue.”
What is a short sentence with tongue?
“cold tongue with mustard”
What does tongue mean?
Tongue means the flexible muscular organ in the mouth that is used to move food around, for tasting and that is moved into various positions to modify the flow of air from the lungs in order to produce different sounds in speech.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: tongue (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use tongue in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/tongue. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.