trench mouth
1
9.3
- noun
- /trɛnʧ maʊθ/
- Specialized
:
estomatitis de trinchera
- Trench mouth.
Examples
-
Poor oral hygiene can lead to trench mouth, which causes painful ulcers and bad breath.
-
Your breath is like trench mouth.
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Trench mouth is rampant.
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After neglecting her dental care, she developed trench mouth and had to see a dentist for treatment.
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Symptoms of trench mouth include swollen gums, severe pain, and bleeding in the mouth.
Synonyms
5
5.8
Gums that become red, swollen, and bleed because of bacteria
1
9.9
A serious gum disease that makes pus come from the gums and can loosen teeth
A painful contagious infection of the mouth and throat that makes sores inside the mouth
A sudden infection of the mouth and throat that causes painful sores on the gums and throat
Sores inside the mouth that are painful and make eating or drinking difficult
Painful swelling and open sores in the mouth that make eating hard
Surface Forms
Morphology
trench + mouth
Knowing 'trench' (a ditch, often wartime) and 'mouth' (oral cavity) does not lead a B1 learner to the clinical sense of a severe gum infection; the phrase is a historical/medical label rather than a compositional description. The specific meaning is lexicalized and culturally/historically grounded (WWI trenches/unsanitary conditions), so learners cannot reliably derive the infection sense from the parts alone.
Etymology
Trench mouth comes from soldiers living in muddy trenches during war, who often got bad infections in their mouths. People called the painful gum disease this, so today trench mouth means 'a severe and painful infection of the gums'.