armed to the teeth

Idioms  

1. Overly well equipped or prepared, as in With her elaborate gown and makeup, she was armed to the teeth for her first New York appearance. The expression to the teeth meant “well equipped” in the 14th century, when knights often wore head-to-foot armor. The idiom, however, only gained currency in the mid-1800s, at first still applied to weapons or other military equipment. Today it is used still more figuratively.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

armed to the teeth

His smile is disarming, but his ideas are armed to the teeth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2025

"I've had them here, armed to the teeth with catapults, and I see it as my job to see them off because I don't want them here," she said.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2025

Despite its name, the DMZ and its vicinity are armed to the teeth.

From New York Times ● Jul. 26, 2023

Even then, when Arisu is ambushed by an adversary armed to the teeth, Chishiya doesn’t help him, preferring to stand back and wait for the situation to sort itself out.

From Salon ● Dec. 31, 2022

There were more than a hundred of them, all armed to the teeth.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline