to the teeth
Idioms-
Completely, fully, as in Obviously new to skiing, they were equipped to the teeth with the latest gear . This idiom dates from the late 1300s. Also see armed to the teeth ; fed to the gills .
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Also, . Fully committed, as in We're in this collaboration up to our teeth . [First half of 1900s] Both of these hyperbolic usages allude to being fully covered or immersed in something up to one's teeth.
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.
His smile is disarming, but his ideas are armed to the teeth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2025
"If you are willing to have friends who are armed to the teeth you are making a choice. There has to come a time where you draw a line in the sand."
From BBC ● Nov. 28, 2023
The sticky texture of the raisins causes the sugar to stick to the teeth in the same way as candy, making the mouth more susceptible to cavities, Cortez said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2023
The FBI was called in, military advisers were consulted and we had the nearly three-month spectacle of the U.S. government besieging a small, apocalyptic cult movement that was armed to the teeth.
From Salon ● Mar. 24, 2023
To dine and leave immediately were the orders of the moment: alone and without guides, but armed to the teeth we crossed the fields ... the Temple appeared to us at last ...
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
