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tooth
[ tooth ]
noun
- (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.
- (in invertebrates) any of various similar or analogous processes occurring in the mouth or alimentary canal, or on a shell.
- any projection resembling or suggesting a tooth.
- one of the projections of a comb, rake, saw, etc.
- Machinery.
- any of the uniform projections on a gear or rack by which it drives, or is driven by, a gear, rack, or worm.
- any of the uniform projections on a sprocket by which it drives or is driven by a chain.
- Botany.
- any small, toothlike marginal lobe.
- one of the toothlike divisions of the peristome of mosses.
- a sharp, distressing, or destructive attribute or agency.
- taste, relish, or liking.
Synonyms: , ,
- a surface, as on a grinding wheel or sharpening stone, slightly roughened so as to increase friction with another part.
- a rough surface created on a paper made for charcoal drawing, watercolor, or the like, or on canvas for oil painting.
verb (used with object)
- to furnish with teeth.
- to cut teeth upon.
verb (used without object)
- to interlock, as cogwheels.
tooth
/ ٳːθ /
noun
- any of various bonelike structures set in the jaws of most vertebrates and modified, according to the species, for biting, tearing, or chewing dental
- any of various similar structures in invertebrates, occurring in the mouth or alimentary canal
- anything resembling a tooth in shape, prominence, or function
the tooth of a comb
- any of the various small indentations occurring on the margin of a leaf, petal, etc
- any one of a number of uniform projections on a gear, sprocket, rack, etc, by which drive is transmitted
- taste or appetite (esp in the phrase sweet tooth )
- long in the toothold or ageing: used originally of horses, because their gums recede with age
- tooth and nailwith ferocity and force
we fought tooth and nail
verb
- tr to provide with a tooth or teeth
- intr (of two gearwheels) to engage
tooth
- 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
- A similar structure in certain invertebrate animals.
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.
Derived Forms
- ˈٴǴdzٳ, adjective
- ˈٴǴdzٳˌ, adjective
Other Word Forms
- ٴǴdzٳl adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of tooth1
Word History and Origins
Origin of tooth1
Idioms and Phrases
- by the skin of one's teeth, barely:
He got away by the skin of his teeth.
- cast / throw in someone's teeth, to reproach someone for (an action):
History will ever throw this blunder in his teeth.
- 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.
- in the teeth of,
- so as to face or confront; straight into or against:
in the teeth of the wind.
- in defiance of; in opposition to:
She maintained her stand in the teeth of public opinion.
- long in the tooth, old; elderly.
- put teeth in / into, to establish or increase the effectiveness of:
to put teeth into the law.
- set one's teeth, to become resolute; prepare for difficulty:
He set his teeth and separated the combatants.
- set / put one's teeth on edge,
- to induce an unpleasant sensation.
- to repel; irritate:
The noise of the machines sets my teeth on edge.
- show one's teeth, to become hostile or threatening; exhibit anger:
Usually friendly, she suddenly began to show her teeth.
- to the teeth, entirely; fully:
armed to the teeth; dressed to the teeth in furs.
More idioms and phrases containing tooth
In addition to the idiom beginning with tooth , also see fight tooth and nail ; fine-tooth comb ; long in the tooth ; sweet tooth . Also see under teeth .Example Sentences
Trump, who cut his teeth professionally taking out loans as a property developer, has long confessed to liking a low interest rate policy.
Because bats have small teeth, their bites typically go unnoticed, heightening the risk of infection.
And for a network that cut its teeth on reality so authentic it could be named in the show’s title, it’s a thrillingly candid return to form.
The last thing you need while enjoying tinned fish is having a thin fish bone lodged inside your throat or getting stuck between your teeth.
The Lakers recovered from a knee scrape of a playoff opener Tuesday to leap up and kick the stunned Minnesota Timberwolves in the teeth.
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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.
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