incisor

American  

[in-sahy-zer] / ɪnˈsaɪ zər /

noun

Dentistry.

incisors plural

1. any of the four anterior teeth in each jaw, used for cutting and gnawing.

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incisor British  

/ ɪnˈsaɪzə /

noun

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

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incisor Scientific  

/ 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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• incisors
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

incisor incisors

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

Beatrice made a chimpanzee face and pointed at a sharp stump where one of her incisor teeth used to be.

From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen

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

When the singer and songwriter Adrianne Lenker was 21, she was involved in a bike accident that knocked out one of her incisors.

From New York Times ● Mar. 11, 2024

The gorilla, for example, needs strong muscles near the ear to chew fibrous vegetable matter, while the chimpanzee uses its incisors to bite into tasty fruit.

From Salon ● Jan. 5, 2024

I was not disappointed: there, raking the horizon, stood the jagged incisors of the Himalaya.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

Related Words

• ivory