by word of mouth

by word of mouth

Through the verbal sharing of information. A: "How did you hear about our bakery?" B: "Oh, by word of mouth. My dad told me about it." We don't have the budget for a big marketing campaign, so we'll just have to hope that buzz about our shop gets spread by word of mouth.

See also: by, mouth, of, word

by word of mouth

by speaking rather than writing. I learned about it by word of mouth. I need it in writing. I don't trust things I hear about by word of mouth.

See also: by, mouth, of, word

word of mouth, by

Orally, by one person telling another, as in They don't advertise; they get all their customers by word of mouth. [Mid-1500s]

See also: by, of, word

by ˌword of ˈmouth

in spoken, not written, words: The news spread by word of mouth.

‘By word of mouse’ (= a computer mouse) is a humorous version of this that refers to communication by email, etc.

See also: by, mouth, of, word

word of mouth, by

Orally. This phrase dates from the sixteenth century and persists to the present, though simply “orally” would be more direct. “A little message unto hir by worde of mouth,” wrote Nicholas Udall in Ralph Roister Doister (ca. 1553), presumably differentiating it from a written message.

See also: by, of, word