dragon's teeth
Britishplural noun
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informal conical or wedge-shaped concrete antitank obstacles protruding from the ground in rows: used in World War II
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to take some action that is intended to prevent strife or trouble but that actually brings it about
Etymology
Origin of dragon's teeth
sense 2 from the story of Cadmus
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 physical defenses along NATO’s eastern flank, such as the dragon’s teeth, were erected in the past few years and dubbed the “Baltic Defense Line.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Last year, Estonia furnished the bridge with dragon's teeth – pyramidal anti-tank obstacles of reinforced concrete.
From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2025
It’s a lot simpler than Poole’s alternative: In The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, he writes, the monsters are “hatched from the dragon’s teeth America sowed in its own soil.”
From Slate ● Oct. 29, 2024
Anti-tank fortifications known as dragon’s teeth, the pyramids are a sign of the new defenses Ukraine is building in the south against an anticipated Russian offensive.
From New York Times ● May 10, 2024
Hadn’t there been some story about dragon’s teeth planted in the ground?
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
