| Additional Translations |
WordReference English-Spanish Dictionary © 2026:
| tongue n | (strip inside top of shoe) | lengüeta nf |
| | Jeremy put the shoe on his foot, straightened the tongue, then tied the laces. |
| | Jeremy se puso los zapatos y estiró la lengüeta para atarse los cordones. |
| tongue n | figurative (manner of speaking) | lengua nf |
| | Michelle always manages to say the right thing; she has a smooth tongue. |
| | Michele siempre se las arregla para decir lo correcto, tiene buena lengua. |
| tongue n | (woodwork: part of joint) (carpintería) | macho nm |
| | The tongue on this piece of wood slots into the groove on the other piece. |
| | El macho de esta pieza de madera encaja en la hembra de la otra pieza. |
| tongue [sth]⇒ vtr | (touch with the tongue) | lengüetear⇒ vtr |
| | | tocar con la lengua loc verb |
| | After the fight, the young man tongued his teeth, making sure they were all still there. |
| | Después de la pelea, el joven se lengüeteó los dientes para asegurarse de que estaban todos ahí. |
| tongue [sb]⇒ vtr | slang (French kiss) | besar a alguien con lengua vtr + loc adv |
| | (ES: coloquial) | morrear a alguien vtr + prep |
| | (CO: coloquial) | chuparse con alguien, chuparse a alguien v prnl + prep |
| | Sarah found it hard to concentrate on the film, because of the two teenagers tonguing each other in the row in front of her. |
| | A Sarah le resultaba difícil concentrase en la película porque había dos adolescentes besándose con lengua en la fila de adelante. |
| Compound Forms: |
WordReference English-Spanish Dictionary © 2026:
bite your tongue,
bite your lip v expr | figurative (refrain from saying [sth]) | morderse la lengua loc verb |
| Cat got your tongue? expr | figurative, informal (Why aren't you talking?) | ¿te ha comido la lengua el gato? expr |
| | What's the matter, has the cat got your tongue? |
| | (AR, coloquial) | ¿te comieron la lengua los ratones? expr |
| | ¿Qué pasa? ¿Te comieron la lengua los ratones? |
devil's tongue,
snake palm n | (smelly tropical plant) | lengua del diablo loc nom f |
| | | konjak, konjaku nm |
dogtooth violet,
adder's-tongue,
trout lily n | (plant: Erythronium) | lirio trucha americana, lirio trucha oriental loc nom f |
| | | lengua de víbora loc nom f |
| forked tongue n | (split tongue of snake, etc.) | lengua bífida nf + adj |
| | | lengua bifurcada nf + adj |
| give [sb] a tongue-lashing v expr | figurative, informal (scold [sb] severely) (AR, coloquial) | cagar a pedos a loc verb |
green gentian,
deer's tongue,
deer's-tongue n | (flowering plant: western US) | frasera nf |
hold your tongue,
bite your tongue,
bite your lip v expr | idiom (refrain from expressing yourself) (coloquial) | mantener la boca cerrada loc verb |
| | (coloquial) | morderse la lengua loc verb |
| | (coloquial) | cerrar el pico loc verb |
| | | quedarse callado v prnl + adj |
| | You must hold your tongue and not tell your mother-in-law what you really think of her cooking. |
| | Debes mantener la boca cerrada y no decirle a tu suegra lo que realmente piensas de su comida. |
mother tongue,
mother language n | (native language) | lengua materna loc nom f |
| | Juan's mother tongue is Spanish. |
| | La lengua materna de Juan es el español. |
| | | idioma natal loc nom m |
| | El idioma natal de Juan es el español. |
| native tongue n | (first language) | primera lengua loc nom f |
| | My native tongue is English, but I also speak a little French. |
| | ⓘEsta oración no es una traducción de la original. Tiene el inglés como primera lengua. |
| be on the tip of your tongue expr | figurative (answer, etc.: hard to recall) | en la punta de la lengua loc adv |
roll off the tongue,
trip off the tongue v expr | (be easy to pronounce) | ser fácil de decir loc verb |
| | | ser fácil de pronunciar loc verb |
| silver tongue n | figurative (eloquence) (se usa con tener) | labia nf |
| | (se usa con ser) | pico de oro loc nom m |
| slip of the tongue n | (mistake in speaking) (al hablar) | lapsus, desliz nm |
| speak with a forked tongue v expr | figurative (say [sth] deceitful) | mentir⇒ vi |
| | | engañar⇒ vtr |
| stick your tongue out v expr | (show tongue as rude gesture) | sacar la lengua loc verb |
| | ¡No le saques la lengua a la gente, Paola! Van a creer que eres una niña maleducada. |
| tongue and groove n | (woodwork: type of slot joint) | machimbre |
| | The woodwork teacher showed the students how to do a tongue and groove. |
| | El profesor de carpintería le enseñó a sus alumnos a hacer un machimbre. |
| | | machihembrado |
| | El profesor de carpintería le enseñó a sus alumnos a hacer un machihembrado. |
| tongue depressor | (medicine) | depresor lingual loc nom m |
| | | bajalenguas nm inv |
tongue in cheek,
tongue-in-cheek adj | figurative (intended ironically) | irónico/a adj |
| | | burlón/ona adj |
| | | en chiste, en broma loc adj |
| Note: A hyphen is used when the adjective precedes the noun. |
| | Steve always enjoyed Francine's teasing, tongue-in-cheek comments. |
| | Though Larry's remark was tongue in cheek, it still hurt. |
| | Él siempre disfrutó de sus comentarios irónicos. |
tongue in cheek,
with tongue in cheek expr | figurative (ironically) | irónicamente adv |
| | | en chiste, en broma loc adv |
| | I didn't mean to upset you; I made those comments tongue in cheek. |
tongue twister,
tongue-twister n | (hard-to-pronounce phrase) | trabalenguas nm inv |
| | Tongue twisters can be a useful way of improving your pronunciation. |
| | Los trabalenguas pueden ser una buena forma de mejorar la pronunciación. |
tongue worm,
pentastomid n | (parasitic invertebrate) | gusano lengua loc nom m |
| tongue-and-groove n as adj | (woodwork joint: using a slot) (tipo de unión de carpintería) | de machimbre loc adj |
| | | de machihembrado loc adj |
| | This piece of furniture has tongue-and-groove joints. |
| tongue-lashing n | figurative, informal (severe scolding) (AR, coloquial) | cagada a pedos loc nom f |
| tongue-tied adj | figurative (unable to speak) (figurado) | mudo/a adj |
| | Sometimes I get tongue-tied around new people. |
| | (figurado) | con los labios sellados loc adj |
| | (figurado) | sin poder hablar loc adj |
| | | sin saber qué decir loc adj |
| tongue-tied adj | (with congenital tongue condition) | con el frenillo de la lengua corto loc adj |
| | When I was born I was tongue-tied and needed an operation. |