Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to bite one's lip

to bite one's lip

6.1
Pressing your lips together to keep from laughing or saying something
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : morderse el labio
  • He always bites his lip when he's trying to hold back his emotions.

Examples

Synonyms

to swallow
vsto bite one's lip
  • Informal
5 7.0

To take back words you said

shows a visible mouth motion to hold back rather than internal action
to hold one's tongue
vsto bite one's lip
  • Informal
3 5.4

To stay silent to avoid saying something rude

is usually a quick mouth action to suppress feeling rather than steady silence
to bite one's tongue
vsto bite one's lip
  • Informal
1 6.1

Stop yourself from saying something you want to say because it would be rude

uses a short mouth press to block speech rather than only restraint
to hold back one's laughter
vsto bite one's lip
3.7

To stop yourself from making a sound when something is funny

uses a small mouth action to hide emotion rather than only silence
to button one's lip
vsto bite one's lip
  • Informal
7.2

To keep quiet on purpose and not tell others

is a brief physical mouth gesture to hide feeling rather than general silence
to zip someone's lip
vsto bite one's lip
  • Informal
8.4

To keep quiet and not tell others about something

is an inward mouth action to hold back feelings or sounds rather than an order

Antonyms

to speak
∞ 1.0

To talk with someone to share thoughts or feelings

to express
∞ 2.3

To show ideas and feelings by words or actions

How Restrained

to bite one's tongue
  • Informal
1 6.1
to bite one's lip
  • Informal
6.1
to be quiet
231 1.0

Surface Forms

bite one's lip infinitive
biting one's lip present participle
bites one's lip third person singular
bit one's lip past
bitten one's lip past participle

Morphology

bite + one + lip

The phrase is motivated by a literal, easily visualized action (biting one’s lip) that signals holding back speech or emotion, so a learner who knows 'bite' and 'lip' can plausibly infer the physical basis and likely communicative function. However, the conventionalized pragmatic meaning (suppressing laughter, emotion, or words) is an extension of the literal action and may not be fully predictable without exposure, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Bite one's lip comes from the real action of gently biting your lip with your teeth to hold back a laugh, a cry, or the words you want to say. So, it now means 'to stop yourself from laughing, speaking, or showing strong feelings'.