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.
Sharp pieces of slate jut out threateningly against the wall of the house, which Ross described as being "like dragon's teeth".
From BBC • Feb. 10, 2026
Long ditches lined with coils of razor wire and concrete pyramids known as dragon’s teeth await Russia’s increasingly rare armored attacks.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026
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
Oleksander, an engineer with one company involved in that work, said crews have been digging anti-tank ditches, laying dragon’s teeth and building a network of trenches to keep Russian forces at bay.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 19, 2024
They parted, she to the palace to weep over her treachery to her father, he to the ship to send two of his comrades for the dragon’s teeth.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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.
