incisor
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of incisor
1665–75; < New Latin: literally, cutter, equivalent to Latin incīd ( ere ) to incise + -tor -tor, with -dt- > -s-
Explanation
An incisor is a sharp front tooth, perfectly shaped and paired for the purpose of gnawing and cutting food. Humans usually have eight incisors, but opossums? They have 18! Did you know you are like the T. rex? You both have incisors! But, there are clear differences. Human incisors are about the size of a small almond and T. rex's were the size of a banana. Either way, these teeth play a crucial role in the initial stages of food processing by aiding in biting and preparing food for further chewing and digestion. Incisors are characterized by their relatively straight edges, making them essential for tasks like tearing into tough foods or biting into fruits and vegetables.
Vocabulary lists containing incisor
Animals (Zoology) - Middle School
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Animals (Zoology) - High School
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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.
See Examples For:
Based on the emergence of its baby incisor teeth, researchers estimate the cub was about 3 weeks old when it died.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 15, 2024
To learn more about the composition of rodent tooth enamel, Vesna Srot and colleagues captured high-resolution images of incisor specimens from several species.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 17, 2024
For many Angelenos, it’s lowriders, gleaming fronts on our canine and incisor teeth, a purse cast in sterling silver.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2023
The researchers solved the mystery by analyzing a molar and an incisor - detecting the presence of a gene regulating a certain enamel-forming protein to reveal it was a woman.
From Reuters ● Jul. 6, 2023
Curving his paws expertly around a warm brown egg, he held it firmly, then cracked it with a neat sideways tap from a long incisor tooth, the contents settling intact on the straw.
From "The Incredible Journey" by Sheila Burnford
Another clue is the presence of pronounced canines that separate one set of teeth from another—the incisors from the bicuspids and molars, for instance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026
I called up a few dentists to see what they might make of his incisors.
From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2025
She also has a pair of long, constantly growing incisors strong enough to chew through cinder blocks as well as tree bark.
From Salon ● May 11, 2025
Researchers have published high-resolution images of rodent incisors in ACS Nano, providing an atomic-level view of the teeth's ingenious enamel and its coating.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 17, 2024
It cracked loudly as it yielded to her unblemished incisors, and there was revealed the white edge of the sugar shell, and the dark chocolate beneath it.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
