word of mouth, by

by word of mouth

Through the verbal sharing of information. A: "How did you hear about our bakery?" B: "Oh, by word of mouth. My dad told me about it." We don't have the budget for a big marketing campaign, so we'll just have to hope that buzz about our shop gets spread by word of mouth.
See also: by, mouth, of, word

word of mouth

The verbal sharing of information. A: "How did you hear about our bakery?" B: "Oh, word of mouth. My dad told me about it." We don't have the budget for a big marketing campaign, so we'll just have to hope that buzz about our shop gets spread by word of mouth.
See also: mouth, of, word
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

by word of mouth

by speaking rather than writing. I learned about it by word of mouth. I need it in writing. I don't trust things I hear about by word of mouth.
See also: by, mouth, of, word
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

word of mouth, by

Orally, by one person telling another, as in They don't advertise; they get all their customers by word of mouth. [Mid-1500s]
See also: by, of, word
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

word of mouth

spoken language; informal or unofficial discourse.
1987 Bruce Duffy The World As I Found It His ideas were repeated by word of mouth or passed around as transcripts of the shorthand notes that his students doggedly took down during his lectures.
See also: mouth, of, word
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

by ˌword of ˈmouth

in spoken, not written, words: The news spread by word of mouth.
‘By word of mouse’ (= a computer mouse) is a humorous version of this that refers to communication by email, etc.
See also: by, mouth, of, word
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

word of mouth, by

Orally. This phrase dates from the sixteenth century and persists to the present, though simply “orally” would be more direct. “A little message unto hir by worde of mouth,” wrote Nicholas Udall in Ralph Roister Doister (ca. 1553), presumably differentiating it from a written message.
See also: by, of, word
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • by word of mouth
  • word of mouth
  • have an argument
  • have an argument (with someone)
  • render
  • render (something) in (something)
  • render (something) into (something)
  • render in
  • rendering
  • go in with (someone)
References in periodicals archive
In contrast to US studies, we find robust evidence that the trading decisions of Chinese investors are influenced, via word of mouth, by those of their peers who maintain brokerage accounts at the same branch, but not by those whose accounts are maintained at another branch located in the same cir.
Peer effects in the trading decisions of individual investors