mouth to feed
idiom
: a person (such as a child) who needs to be fed
They can't afford another child. They already have too many (hungry) mouths to feed.
Examples of mouth to feed in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Even families with two parents struggled and often could not afford another mouth to feed.
—
Kali Nicole Gross / Made By History, TIME, 19 Sep. 2024
Already stretched thin managing her finances, James moved back to D.C. with one more mouth to feed.
—Michael Brice-Saddler, Washington Post, 1 Feb. 2024
Every mouth to feed, quite literally, comes with two hands to grow.
—Andrew Follett, National Review, 6 Jan. 2024
While Rantz was still a teen, his father and stepmother, viewing him as one extra mouth to feed, abandoned him at the start of the Great Depression.
—Stuart Miller, Hartford Courant, 6 Jan. 2024
He is resented by Brother Nacho (Kinan Valdez), the most hot-tempered among them, for being another mouth to feed.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2023
Isher’s in-laws resented having another mouth to feed, and he was often mistreated and given little to eat.
—New York Times, 23 June 2021
This means that women whose financial precarity led them to surrogacy are now struggling with one more mouth to feed.
—Hannah Beech Nadia Shira Cohen, New York Times, 26 Nov. 2022
His film begins with a father snuffing out his newborn child immediately after birth to avoid having another mouth to feed, and things don’t necessarily get better from there.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Oct. 2022
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Kali Nicole Gross / Made By History, TIME, 19 Sep. 2024
Already stretched thin managing her finances, James moved back to D.C. with one more mouth to feed.
—Michael Brice-Saddler, Washington Post, 1 Feb. 2024
Every mouth to feed, quite literally, comes with two hands to grow.
—Andrew Follett, National Review, 6 Jan. 2024
While Rantz was still a teen, his father and stepmother, viewing him as one extra mouth to feed, abandoned him at the start of the Great Depression.
—Stuart Miller, Hartford Courant, 6 Jan. 2024
He is resented by Brother Nacho (Kinan Valdez), the most hot-tempered among them, for being another mouth to feed.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2023
Isher’s in-laws resented having another mouth to feed, and he was often mistreated and given little to eat.
—New York Times, 23 June 2021
This means that women whose financial precarity led them to surrogacy are now struggling with one more mouth to feed.
—Hannah Beech Nadia Shira Cohen, New York Times, 26 Nov. 2022
His film begins with a father snuffing out his newborn child immediately after birth to avoid having another mouth to feed, and things don’t necessarily get better from there.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Oct. 2022
Dictionary Entries Near mouth to feed
Cite this Entry
“Mouth to feed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mouth%20to%20feed. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share