bite one's tongue

verb

To resist the urge to speak out, especially in order to avoid saying something inappropriate or likely to cause a dispute.

Similar
bite one's lip
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Meanings

verbbite one's tongue (third-person singular simple present bites one's tongue, present participle biting one's tongue, simple past bit one's tongue, past participle bitten one's tongue)

present singular third person bites one's tongue · participle present biting one's tongue · past bit one's tongue · participle past bitten one's tongue

  1. idiomaticintransitiveTo resist the urge to speak out, especially in order to avoid saying something inappropriate or likely to cause a dispute.

    […]my automatic tongue-biting mechanism kicked in just in time.

    2020 June 23, John Bolton, The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 305
    4 more examples

    She wanted to go see a movie called Gigi, which I was not too thrilled about. But being a gentleman, I bit my tongue and said, “Okay.”

    2011, Mike Pappas, Growing Up the Greek Way in the Big Apple, page 103

    I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath / Scared to rock the boat and make a mess.

    2013, Katy Perry, Roar

    I swear I meant to mean the best when it ended / Even try to bite my tongue when you start shit / Now you're texting all my friends, asking questions / They never even liked you in the first place

    2021 August 13, Gayle, Sara Davis, David Pittenger, “abcdefu”, in A Study of the Human Experience Volume One, performed by Gayle

    Yet while elected officials bite their tongues, the Maga media ecosystem has descended into extraordinary and often crude blood-letting.

    2026 March 22, David Smith, “‘Extremely ugly’: Maga media figures squabble among themselves over Trump’s Iran war”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

    Synonyms: bite one's lip

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo resist the urge to speak out, especially in order to avoid saying something inappropriate or likely to cause a dispute.

Similar
bite one's lip
Also see
bite one's lip

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 緘口不言 /缄口不言
  • 緘口不言 /缄口不言 (jiānkǒubùyán)prevent oneself from uttering a word
Finnish pitää suu kiinni, pitää turpa tukossa
  • pitää suu kiinniprevent oneself from uttering a word
  • pitää turpa tukossaprevent oneself from uttering a word
French tenir sa langue
  • tenir sa langueprevent oneself from uttering a word
German sich auf die Zunge beißen
  • sich auf die Zunge beißenprevent oneself from uttering a word
Greek δαγκώνω τη γλώσσα μου
  • δαγκώνω τη γλώσσα μου (dagkóno ti glóssa mou)prevent oneself from uttering a word
Italian mordersi la lingua
  • mordersi la linguaprevent oneself from uttering a word
Māori whakatōngā
  • whakatōngāprevent oneself from uttering a word
Norwegian hvis du ikke har noe hyggelig å si, si ingen ting
  • hvis du ikke har noe hyggelig å si, si ingen tingprevent oneself from uttering a word
Polish gryźć się w język, ugryźć się w język
  • gryźć się w językprevent oneself from uttering a word
  • ugryźć się w językprevent oneself from uttering a word
Russian прикуси́ть язы́к, придержа́ть язы́к
  • прикуси́ть язы́к (prikusítʹ jazýk)prevent oneself from uttering a word
  • придержа́ть язы́к (prideržátʹ jazýk)prevent oneself from uttering a word
Cite this entry
APA

bite one's tongue. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bite%20one's%20tongue

MLA

“bite one's tongue.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bite%20one's%20tongue. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bite one's tongue,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bite%20one's%20tongue.

Source: bite one's tongue on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.