What does bigmouth mean?
A bigmouth is an informal, mildly derogatory term for a person who talks too much or too indiscreetly — someone who blurts out information that ought to be kept private, whether from thoughtlessness or sheer love of talking. The word is transparently formed from 'big' plus 'mouth', and its figurative use is found throughout the English-speaking world: 'Don't tell Marco anything — he's such a bigmouth.' Though clearly insulting, it is often used teasingly among friends rather than as a serious accusation. In North American usage, bigmouth has an entirely separate, literal meaning: it denotes certain fishes distinguished by their wide mouths, most familiarly the largemouth bass, sometimes simply called a bigmouth by anglers. Related forms include the adjective bigmouthed (or big-mouthed), describing someone prone to indiscreet speech. Close cousins in tone include blabbermouth, loudmouth, and chatterbox, each shading the idea differently — toward leaking secrets, noisy offensiveness, or mere talkativeness.
nounAn informal, derogatory term for a person who talks too much or indiscreetly, especially one who cannot keep secrets. In North American English it also refers to any of several large-mouthed fishes, notably the largemouth bass.
- A person who talks too much or indiscreetly, especially one who betrays secrets (informal, derogatory).
- Any of various fishes with a characteristically large mouth, especially the largemouth bass of North America.
"Don't tell Priya about the surprise party — she's such a bigmouth that the whole office will know by lunchtime."
"I only mentioned the promotion to Dan, and now everyone knows — he's a hopeless bigmouth."
"The lake is famous for its bigmouth bass, which can weigh well over ten pounds."
Regular plural. Used both for multiple indiscreet people and for multiple fish.
"The project was supposed to be confidential, but the office is full of bigmouths."
The fish sense is official: the largemouth bass of North America is formally classified in the genus Micropterus, but anglers have affectionately called it a 'bigmouth' for generations.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bigmouth
Bigmouth is a straightforward English compound of 'big' and 'mouth', first recorded in the early nineteenth century. Its figurative sense for an indiscreet talker arose naturally from the image of a mouth too large to keep things in. The fish sense developed independently in nineteenth-century North America, where settlers applied the descriptive compound to local species with conspicuously large mouths, particularly what became known as the largemouth bass. As a native formation, it has no cognates in other languages, though parallel compounds such as 'loudmouth' and 'blabbermouth' followed the same productive pattern.
Related word forms
How bigmouth is actually used
Bigmouth is informal and mildly insulting; calling someone a bigmouth implies they lack discretion rather than malice. It is common in both British and American English, often used in exasperation ('Oh, you bigmouth!') among friends as much as in genuine criticism. The fish sense is chiefly North American and appears frequently in angling contexts, sometimes as a shortened form of 'bigmouth bass'. The adjective form may be written solid (bigmouthed) or hyphenated (big-mouthed), with no difference in meaning.
Easily confused with bigmouth
A loudmouth talks loudly and offensively in public, while a bigmouth talks too much and reveals things that should stay private — volume versus indiscretion.
A blabbermouth specifically leaks secrets, whereas a bigmouth more broadly talks excessively and indiscreetly.