dentition

American

[den-tish-uhn] / dɛnˈtɪʃ ən /

noun

the makeup of a set of teeth including their kind, number, and arrangement.
the eruption or cutting of the teeth; teething; odontiasis.

dentition British

/ dɛnˈtɪʃən /

noun

the arrangement, type, and number of the teeth in a particular species. Man has a primary dentition of deciduous teeth and a secondary dentition of permanent teeth
teething or the time or process of teething

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

dentition Scientific

/ dĕn-tĭsh′ən /

The type, number, and arrangement of teeth in an animal species. In mammals, dentition consists of several different types of teeth, including incisors, canines, and molars. The dentition of toothed fish and reptiles usually consists of only one kind of tooth.

Etymology

Origin of dentition

1605–15; < Latin dentītiōn- (stem of dentītiō), equivalent to dentīt ( us ) (past participle of dentīre to cut teeth, teethe) + -iōn- -ion

Vocabulary lists containing dentition

Body Language: Dent, Dont ("Tooth")

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The discovery of teeth on the tenaculum has reopened that debate, prompting researchers to ask how widespread such features might be and what they reveal about the history of vertebrate dentition.

From Science Daily • Oct. 16, 2025

Imagine a walrus-like creature with dentition remarkably similar to modern walruses: A quartet of post-canine teeth, a large lower canine tooth and a short, fused vertical midline on their lower jaw.

From Salon • Aug. 15, 2024

The fossil dolphin’s dentition was unlike anything seen in living cetaceans.

From New York Times • Jun. 13, 2023

Corpus Christi A young man recently released from dentition passes himself off as a parish priest in a small village in this Academy Award-nominated drama.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2020

Skull: Long and narrow; nasals long, rounded proximally and usually simple distally; rostrum long; interparietal triangular; tympanic bullae large, and well inflated ventrally; basioccipital narrow; palate narrow; palatal pits shallow; dentition light.

From The Pocket Gophers (Genus Thomomys) of Utah, Vol. 1 No. 1 Kansas University Publications. by Durrant, Stephen D.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023