noun
plural tongues
[count] :the soft, movable part in the mouth that is used for tasting and eating food and in human beings for speaking
[count, noncount] :the tongue of an animal (such as an ox or sheep) that is eaten as food
[count] :language
[count] :a particular way or quality of speaking
[count] :something that is shaped like a tongue - + of
[count] :a long flap that is under the laces or buckles of a shoe - see picture at mouth
[count] :a long, raised part at the end of a board that extends out and fits into a long cut (called a groove) in another board - see also tongue-and-groove
a slip of the tongue
bite your tongue
Cat got your tongue?
get your tongue around
informal
If you cannot get your tongue around a word or phrase, you have difficulty saying it.
hold your tongue
loosen someone's tongue
on the tip of your tongue
roll/trip off the tongue
to be easy to say or pronounce
speak in tongues
Someone who is speaking in tongues is saying strange words that no one can understand, especially as part of a religious experience.
speak/talk with (a) forked tongue
tongues (are) wagging
If something sets/gets tongues wagging or if tongues are wagging, people are talking a lot about something.
with (your) tongue in (your) cheek
tongue in cheek
verb
tongues; tongued; tonguing
to produce separate notes when you are blowing air through a musical instrument (such as a trumpet) by using your tongue to briefly stop the flow of air [+ obj]
[+ obj] :to touch or lick something with your tongue
US