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incisor

[in-sahy-zer]
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noun Dentistry.
  1. any of the four anterior teeth in each jaw, used for cutting and gnawing.
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Origin of incisor

1665–75; < New Latin: literally, cutter, equivalent to Latin incīd(ere) to incise + -tor -tor, with -dt- > -s-
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

ivorysnagtushtuskmolarpremolarfangcuspidbicuspidincisoreyetoothpointcaninetinedentgrinderserrationdenticletoothcarnassial

Examples from the Web for incisors

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • His tusks are his incisors, and they have developed as have almost no other teeth in the mammals.

    The Meaning of Evolution

    Samuel Christian Schmucker

  • After the incisors, the premolars show the greatest number of anomalies.

    Criminal Man

    Gina Lombroso-Ferrero

  • “The only offensive thing I have is a pair of incisors,” said the water-rat.

  • There are twenty teeth; in each jaw there are eight molars and two incisors.

    In Beaver World

    Enos Abijah Mills

  • The incisors are orthodont; the rostrum is short and the braincase is wide.

British Dictionary definitions for incisors

incisor

noun
  1. a chisel-edged tooth at the front of the mouth. In man there are four in each jaw
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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

Word Origin and History for incisors

incisor

n.

"cutting tooth," 1670s, from Medieval Latin incisor "a cutting tooth," literally "that which cuts into," from Latin incisus, past participle of incidere (see incision). Inscisours as the name of a cutting tool is attested from early 15c.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
incisors in Medicine

incisor

(ĭn-sī′zər)
n.
  1. Any of the four teeth adapted for cutting or gnawing, having a chisel-shaped crown and a single conical root and located in the front part of both jaws in both deciduous and permanent dentitions.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
incisors in Science

incisor

[ĭn-sī′zər]
  1. A sharp-edged tooth in mammals that is adapted for cutting or gnawing. The incisors are located in the front of the mouth between the canine teeth.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
incisors in Culture

incisors

[(in-seye-zuhrz)]

The sharp teeth at the front of the mouth (four on the top and four on the bottom) that are specialized for cutting. (Compare molars.)

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.