# What does mewing mean?

Canonical: https://postmesh.app/glossary/mewing

By PostMesh team. Published 2026-10-31; updated 2026-10-31.

Mewing is pressing your tongue against the roof of your mouth in the hope of a sharper jawline, a claim orthodontic sources say isn't supported. Online it's also a joke: a shush and a finger along the jaw that means I can't talk, I'm mewing.

## What mewing means

Mewing has two meanings that overlap. The first is a practice: resting your tongue flat against the roof of your mouth, on and off through the day, because you've heard it will reshape your jaw and face. [Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/slang/mewing) defines it this way and adds, in the same breath, that the practice has not been found to work.

The second meaning is a joke. In 2024 mewing turned into a gesture: someone puts a finger to their lips like a shush, then runs another finger along their jawline. It means I can't answer you, I'm busy mewing. Kids aimed it at teachers and parents, and it spread from there. Merriam-Webster notes that the shushing face emoji followed by the deaf person emoji is sometimes used to stand for the word or the gesture, as in the first example further down.

It has nothing to do with the sound a cat makes, even though the spelling is the same. Merriam-Webster gives the pronunciation as MYOO-ing, and related forms as mew (the verb) and mewer (a person who does it).

> This page explains the slang. It isn't health advice. Questions about your own teeth, jaw, bite or breathing are for a dentist, orthodontist or doctor, not a video trend.

## Where mewing comes from

The word comes from a surname. Merriam-Webster says mewing is named after John and Mike Mew, British orthodontists it calls controversial, who promoted methods it describes as discredited for reshaping the teeth and jaw. [Cleveland Clinic](https://health.clevelandclinic.org/what-is-mewing) says John Mew developed the technique in the 1970s for his own children and patients, believing it could help with alignment and facial structure.

The technique reached the internet through video. [Know Your Meme](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/mewing) dates the Orthotropics YouTube channel to October 2011, and reports a thread about a Mike Mew video on the RedPillTalk forums in early June 2014. Merriam-Webster says videos about the technique spread through incel forums in the mid-2010s, and that practicing the tongue posture came to be called mewing.

By the late 2010s, Merriam-Webster says, mewing had become a prominent part of looksmaxxing, the practices young men take up to try to look more attractive, often chasing a chiseled jaw. YouTube tutorials and before-and-after videos multiplied. Know Your Meme notes that in February 2019 the Coventry Telegraph was already calling it a new health craze on Instagram and YouTube.

The meme sense arrived last. Merriam-Webster says mewing went viral in spring 2024 after students reportedly started using the shush-and-jawline gesture to avoid answering teachers. That version has very little to do with jaws. It's a way to be cheeky without saying a word.

- 1970s: John Mew develops the technique for his children and patients (Cleveland Clinic)
- October 2011: The Orthotropics YouTube channel starts (Know Your Meme)
- Mid 2010s: Videos spread on incel forums and the practice gets the name mewing (Merriam-Webster)
- February 2019: A UK newspaper calls it a health craze on Instagram and YouTube (Know Your Meme)
- Spring 2024: The shush-and-jawline gesture goes viral in schools (Merriam-Webster)

*Sources: Cleveland Clinic, Know Your Meme and Merriam-Webster.*

## Does mewing work? What orthodontic sources say

The short version: the claims aren't established. The [American Association of Orthodontists](https://aaoinfo.org/whats-trending/is-mewing-bad-for-you) says there is no current research showing that mewing benefits the jawline or oral health. It explains that facial structure depends on genetics, bone growth and muscle development, so tongue position alone can't be expected to reshape a jaw or fix misaligned teeth, while acknowledging that tongue posture plays some role in how a face develops.

Both the AAO and Cleveland Clinic describe possible downsides. The AAO lists uneven pressure on the teeth that could cause crowding or gaps, bite and speech problems, and more complicated treatment later. Cleveland Clinic says it can worsen jaw tension and TMJ disorders, and can shift tooth position, particularly in children and teens. A family medicine physician quoted by Cleveland Clinic says the evidence suggests it isn't effective for any of the claims made for it.

**What the trend claims**
- A sharper, more defined jawline
- A more attractive face
- Results from tongue posture alone

**What orthodontic sources say**
- No current research shows a jawline benefit (AAO)
- Face shape depends on genetics, bone and muscle (AAO)
- Possible bite, jaw and tooth problems (AAO, Cleveland Clinic)

*The slang is harmless. The health claims behind it are not established.*

## How people use mewing on social media

Merriam-Webster notes two very different kinds of mewing content. One is earnest: tutorials and testimonials that promote the technique, which have circulated on YouTube since at least the late 2010s. The other is parody, and that's most of what you'll see now.

On [TikTok](/platform/tiktok) and Instagram Reels, the joke version is a video format. Someone gets asked a question by a parent, teacher or boss, and replies with the gesture. Comments fill with the shushing face and deaf person emoji. On X and Threads, people use the word to describe someone ignoring them, and in group chats it's shorthand for not wanting to answer. Merriam-Webster also notes the word turns up in serious discussions about young men's well-being online and about classroom behavior.

The skits are a [short-form video](/glossary/short-form-video) format: a question, a pause, the gesture, a cut. If they keep landing on your [FYP](/glossary/fyp), you're seeing the joke version, not a tutorial. The word also works on its own as a verb in text. Saying someone is mewing means they've gone quiet, are dodging, or are pretending not to hear, with no jaw involved at all.

- Caption on a classroom skit: "when the teacher asks for my homework 🤫🧏"
- Group chat, after a hard question: "can't answer, mewing"
- Comment on a parody video: "his mewing is louder than his answer"
- Reply to a friend who left you on read: "oh so we're mewing now"
- Parent posting about their kid: "asked who ate the last cookie and got the mewing gesture"
- Skeptical comment on a tutorial: "orthodontists have entered the chat"

## How to reply when someone does the mewing gesture

Most of the time, it's a kid or a friend being cheeky. It isn't usually a deep act of defiance. You'll get further laughing than lecturing. Memes like this tend to lose their power the moment adults know exactly what they mean, so a dry "nice mewing, now answer the question" often ends it faster than getting annoyed.

**Where did the mewing gesture come up?**
- A friend in a group chat → It's a joke dodge. Play along or ask again.
- Your kid at the dinner table → Laugh, then repeat the question. Most kids drop it once the joke lands.
- A student in class → Treat it like any other cheeky dodge. Naming the meme often takes the fun out of it.
- Someone selling mewing as a fix → That's a health claim. Point to what orthodontic sources say.

## When not to use it

The joke is fine among friends who know it. It's worth skipping in a few places. In work chats, the gesture reads as refusing to answer, even when you mean it lightly. With people who don't know the meme, it just looks rude. And because the word started in forums obsessed with rating men's faces, some readers will connect it with that history.

Brand and creator accounts should be most careful. Using the meme in a skit is one thing. Presenting mewing as a way to change your face is a health claim that orthodontic sources say isn't supported, and that's a bad thing to put your name behind.

If you're a parent or teacher, it helps to know which version you're dealing with. A kid doing the gesture is almost always joking. A kid who is earnestly mewing for hours to change their face may be absorbing ideas from looksmaxxing content about how they should look. That's worth a calm conversation, and any questions about their teeth or jaw are for their dentist or orthodontist.

**Fine to use mewing when**
- [ ] You mean the joke, not the jaw technique
- [ ] Everyone in the chat knows the meme
- [ ] It isn't a work chat or a reply to a customer
- [ ] The post makes no claim about changing your face
- [ ] It doesn't mock someone's appearance

## Mewing and related slang

| Term | What it means | Link to mewing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mewing | Tongue posture meant to change the jaw, or the shush joke | The term itself |
| Mog | To outshine someone, usually by looks | From the same looksmaxxing forums |
| Looksmaxxing | Trying to maximize your attractiveness | Mewing became a prominent part of it |
| Sigma | A lone-wolf ideal of masculinity, now mostly a joke | Often turns up in the same parody videos |
| Aura | The impressive presence someone gives off | Often used in the same videos |

If you came here from a parody video, you'll probably meet [mog](/glossary/mog), [sigma](/glossary/sigma) and [aura](/glossary/aura) in the same comments. [Chopped](/glossary/chopped) is the blunt insult on the other side of the looks obsession, and [skibidi](/glossary/skibidi) is the same generation's taste for nonsense words that adults find baffling.

## Questions

### What does the mewing hand gesture mean?

A finger to the lips plus a finger along the jawline means I can't talk, I'm mewing. It's a cheeky way to dodge a question, popularized in schools in 2024.

### Does mewing actually change your jawline?

Orthodontic sources say the claim isn't supported. The American Association of Orthodontists says no current research shows a jawline benefit.

### What do the shushing face and deaf person emoji mean together?

Merriam-Webster notes the shushing face and deaf person emoji are sometimes used together to mean mewing, usually the joke version.

### Who invented mewing?

It's named after the British orthodontists John and Mike Mew. Cleveland Clinic says John Mew developed the technique in the 1970s.

### Is mewing bad for you?

The AAO and Cleveland Clinic both describe possible downsides, including bite, jaw and tooth problems. For anything about your own mouth, ask a dentist or orthodontist.

### Why do kids say they're mewing?

It's a meme. Saying or miming that you're mewing is a joke way to avoid answering, much like pretending you can't hear.

## Related terms

- [Mog](https://postmesh.app/glossary/mog)

- [Sigma](https://postmesh.app/glossary/sigma)

- [Aura](https://postmesh.app/glossary/aura)

- [Chopped](https://postmesh.app/glossary/chopped)

- [Skibidi](https://postmesh.app/glossary/skibidi)

- [NPC](https://postmesh.app/glossary/npc)

## Sources

- [Merriam-Webster: Mewing (slang)](https://www.merriam-webster.com/slang/mewing)

- [Know Your Meme: Mewing](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/mewing)

- [American Association of Orthodontists: Does mewing actually reshape your jaw?](https://aaoinfo.org/whats-trending/is-mewing-bad-for-you)

- [Cleveland Clinic: Does mewing work to reshape your jaw?](https://health.clevelandclinic.org/what-is-mewing)