tongue

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun Literary · Formal

n. a particular language that a group of people speaks.

n. a specific language or dialect; often used metonymically in literary or formal contexts.

“It was strange to hear my mother tongue being spoken so far away from home.”

“The ancient manuscript was written in a forgotten tongue that scholars have struggled to decipher for decades.”

B1 · Intermediate Countable noun

n. the strip of leather or fabric under the laces of a shoe.

n. the flap of material in a shoe that rests under the laces and protects the top of the foot.

Español:lengüeta

“He pulled up the tongue of his boot before tying the laces tightly.”

“The padded tongue of the running shoe is designed to reduce pressure from the laces during long-distance training sessions.”

C1 · Advanced Countable noun Literary

n. something long and thin that looks like a tongue, such as a piece of land or a flame.

n. a long, narrow projection of something, such as land extending into water or a flickering flame.

“A long tongue of land stretched out into the cold blue sea.”

“Tongues of fire licked at the edges of the wooden beams as the abandoned warehouse was consumed by the blaze.”

C2 · Proficiency Plural noun Religion Technical · Formal

n. strange sounds or languages spoken during a religious service.

n. the phenomenon of speaking in unknown languages, typically during religious worship; often pluralized.

“Some members of the church began speaking in tongues during the ceremony.”

“The sociological study examined the practice of speaking in tongues within various charismatic religious movements across the globe.”

C1 · Advanced Music Technical

v. to use your tongue to start a note when playing a wind instrument like a flute or trumpet.

v. to articulate notes on a wind instrument by interrupting the air stream with the tongue.

“The teacher told the student to tongue the notes more clearly for the fast passage.”

“The piece requires the flautist to tongue each staccato note with precision to maintain the rhythmic integrity of the composition.”