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teeth

[teeth]
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noun
  1. plural of tooth.
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Related formsteeth·less, adjective

tooth

[tooth]
noun, plural teeth.
  1. (in most vertebrates) one of the hard bodies or processes usually attached in a row to each jaw, serving for the prehension and mastication of food, as weapons of attack or defense, etc., and in mammals typically composed chiefly of dentin surrounding a sensitive pulp and covered on the crown with enamel.
  2. (in invertebrates) any of various similar or analogous processes occurring in the mouth or alimentary canal, or on a shell.
  3. any projection resembling or suggesting a tooth.
  4. one of the projections of a comb, rake, saw, etc.
  5. Machinery.
    1. any of the uniform projections on a gear or rack by which it drives, or is driven by, a gear, rack, or worm.
    2. any of the uniform projections on a sprocket by which it drives or is driven by a chain.
  6. Botany.
    1. any small, toothlike marginal lobe.
    2. one of the toothlike divisions of the peristome of mosses.
  7. a sharp, distressing, or destructive attribute or agency.
  8. taste, relish, or liking.
  9. a surface, as on a grinding wheel or sharpening stone, slightly roughened so as to increase friction with another part.
  10. a rough surface created on a paper made for charcoal drawing, watercolor, or the like, or on canvas for oil painting.
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verb (used with object), toothed [tootht, tooth d] /tuθt, tuðd/, tooth·ing [too-thing, -th ing] /ˈtu θɪŋ, -ðɪŋ/.
  1. to furnish with teeth.
  2. to cut teeth upon.
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verb (used without object), toothed [tootht, tooth d] /tuθt, tuðd/, tooth·ing [too-thing, -th ing] /ˈtu θɪŋ, -ðɪŋ/.
  1. to interlock, as cogwheels.
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Idioms
  1. by the skin of one's teeth, barely: He got away by the skin of his teeth.
  2. cast/throw in someone's teeth, to reproach someone for (an action): History will ever throw this blunder in his teeth.
  3. cut one's teeth on, to do at the beginning of one's education, career, etc., or in one's youth: The hunter boasted of having cut his teeth on tigers.
  4. in the teeth of,
    1. so as to face or confront; straight into or against: in the teeth of the wind.
    2. in defiance of; in opposition to: She maintained her stand in the teeth of public opinion.
  5. long in the tooth, old; elderly.
  6. put teeth in/into, to establish or increase the effectiveness of: to put teeth into the law.
  7. set one's teeth, to become resolute; prepare for difficulty: He set his teeth and separated the combatants.
  8. set/put one's teeth on edge,
    1. to induce an unpleasant sensation.
    2. to repel; irritate: The noise of the machines sets my teeth on edge.
  9. show one's teeth, to become hostile or threatening; exhibit anger: Usually friendly, she suddenly began to show her teeth.
  10. to the teeth, entirely; fully: armed to the teeth; dressed to the teeth in furs.
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Origin of tooth

before 900; Middle English; Old English tōth; cognate with Dutch tand, German Zahn, Old Norse tǫnn; akin to Gothic tunthus, Latin dēns, Greek odoús (Ionic odṓn), Sanskrit dánta
Related formstooth·like, adjective

Synonyms

See more synonyms for tooth on Thesaurus.com
8. fondness, partiality, predilection.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for teeth

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Her lips were very red and her teeth were very white, and I couldn't tell about her eyes.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • His teeth were large and looked like the teeth of many of our own animals.

    Ancient Man

    Hendrik Willem van Loon

  • For half an hour he rode in this fashion with his heart beating at his teeth.

  • Then he stopped, tore off his shirt, and ripped it with his right hand and his teeth into strips.

  • "A man I thought was my friend—" Andrew clicked his teeth shut.

British Dictionary definitions for teeth

teeth

noun
  1. the plural of tooth
  2. the most violent partthe teeth of the gale
  3. the power to produce a desired effectthat law has no teeth
  4. by the skin of one's teeth See skin (def. 14)
  5. get one's teeth into to become engrossed in
  6. in the teeth of in direct opposition to; againstin the teeth of violent criticism he went ahead with his plan
  7. show one's teeth to threaten, esp in a defensive manner
  8. to the teeth to the greatest possible degreearmed to the teeth
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tooth

noun plural teeth (tiːθ)
  1. any of various bonelike structures set in the jaws of most vertebrates and modified, according to the species, for biting, tearing, or chewingRelated adjective: dental
  2. any of various similar structures in invertebrates, occurring in the mouth or alimentary canal
  3. anything resembling a tooth in shape, prominence, or functionthe tooth of a comb
  4. any of the various small indentations occurring on the margin of a leaf, petal, etc
  5. any one of a number of uniform projections on a gear, sprocket, rack, etc, by which drive is transmitted
  6. taste or appetite (esp in the phrase sweet tooth)
  7. long in the tooth old or ageing: used originally of horses, because their gums recede with age
  8. tooth and nail with ferocity and forcewe fought tooth and nail
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verb (tuːð, tuːθ)
  1. (tr) to provide with a tooth or teeth
  2. (intr) (of two gearwheels) to engage
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Derived Formstoothless, adjectivetoothlike, adjective

Word Origin

Old English tōth; related to Old Saxon tand, Old High German zand, Old Norse tonn, Gothic tunthus, Latin dens
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 teeth

n.

plural of tooth (n.).

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tooth

n.

Old English toð (plural teð), from Proto-Germanic *tanth, *tunth (cf. Old Saxon, Danish, Swedish, Dutch tand, Old Norse tönn, Old Frisian toth, Old High German zand, German Zahn, Gothic tunþus), from PIE *dont-/*dent- "tooth" (cf. Sanskrit danta, Greek odontos, Latin dens, Lithuanian dantis, Old Irish det, Welsh dent). Plural form teeth is an instance of i-mutation. Application to tooth-like parts of other objects (saws, combs, etc.) first recorded 1520s.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
teeth in Medicine

teeth

(tēth)
n.
  1. Plural oftooth
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tooth

(tōōth)
n. pl. teeth (tēth)
  1. One of a set of hard, bonelike structures rooted in sockets in the jaws of vertebrates, typically composed of a core of soft pulp surrounded by a layer of hard dentin that is coated with cement or enamel at the crown and used chiefly for biting or chewing food or as a means of attack or defense.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
teeth in Science

tooth

[tōōth]
Plural teeth (tēth)
  1. Any of the hard bony structures in the mouth used to grasp and chew food and as weapons of attack and defense. In mammals and many other vertebrates, the teeth are set in sockets in the jaw. In fish and amphibians, they grow in and around the palate. See also dentition.
  2. A similar structure in certain invertebrate animals.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
teeth in Culture

tooth

A hard structure, embedded in the jaws of the mouth, that functions in chewing. The tooth consists of a crown, covered with hard white enamel; a root, which anchors the tooth to the jawbone; and a “neck” between the crown and the root, covered by the gum. Most of the tooth is made up of dentin, which is located directly below the enamel. The soft interior of the tooth, the pulp, contains nerves and blood vessels. Humans have molars for grinding food, incisors for cutting, and canines and bicuspids for tearing.

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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.

Idioms and Phrases with teeth

teeth

see armed to the teeth; bare one's teeth; by the skin of one's teeth; cut one's teeth on; fed to the gills (teeth); fly in the face (teeth) of; give one's eyeteeth; gnash one's teeth; grit one's teeth; in the teeth of; kick in the pants (teeth); lie through one's teeth; like pulling teeth; scarce as hen's teeth; set one's teeth on edge; sink one's teeth into; to the teeth. Also see under tooth.

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tooth

In addition to the idiom beginning with tooth

  • tooth fairy

also see:

  • fight tooth and nail
  • fine-tooth comb
  • long in the tooth
  • sweet tooth

Also see underteeth.

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.