Meaning & use
lips
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“lips” is a form of “lip”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounplural
the two soft edges around the mouth that you use for speaking, kissing, and holding food.
Grammar: Always plural when talking about both lips; the singular lip means one edge only.
Patterns
- someone's lips
- on someone's lips
- part your lips
She put on red lipstick and pressed her lips together.
His lips were dry from the cold wind.
The baby smiled, and her lips moved as if she wanted to talk.
nounplural
the edges of a container, opening, or wound, especially where something pours or flows.
Grammar: Used for the edges of things; the singular lip is also common here.
Patterns
- the lips of a cup
- the lips of a wound
Water ran over the lips of the old fountain.
The lips of the cut were clean and needed only a small bandage.
Word forms
| singular | lip |
|---|
Common combinations
- lick your lips
- He licked his lips before starting the difficult question.
- bite your lip
- She bit her lip to stop herself from laughing.
- read someone's lips
- Because of the noise, I had to read his lips.
- seal someone's lips
- He promised to seal his lips about the surprise party.
- a kiss on the lips
- The mother gave her child a kiss on the lips.
Word family
- lip noun
- one of the two soft edges of the mouth.
- lipped adjective
- having a particular kind of lips, as in thin-lipped.
Commonly confused: lips or lisp?
lips vs lisp
A lisp is a speech problem, not a part of the body. Lips are the physical edges of the mouth.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
Lips is plural, so the article an is not used. 'She has red lips' is correct; the other options either mix singular and plural or add an extra word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “lips”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.