tooth
tooth definition
tooth (to̵̅o̅t̸h; for v., also to̵̅o̅t̸h)
noun pl. teeth (tēt̸h)
- any of a set of hard, bonelike structures set in the jaws of most vertebrates and used for biting, tearing, and chewing: a tooth consists typically of a sensitive, vascular pulp surrounded by dentin and coated on the crown with enamel and on the root with cementum: normally 32 are in the permanent set and 20 in the deciduous set of a human
- any of various analogous processes in invertebrates
- denture (sense )
- something resembling a tooth; toothlike part, as on a saw, fork, rake, gearwheel, etc.; tine, prong, cog, etc.
- appetite or taste for something specified: now only in sweet tooth
- something that bites, pierces, or gnaws like a tooth the teeth of the storm
- a rough surface, as on paper, metal, etc.
- a sound or effective means of enforcing something to put teeth into a law
- Bot. any small, pointed lobe, as of a leaf or of the fringe surrounding the opening of a capsule in mosses
Etymology: ME < OE toth (< *tanth), akin to Ger zahn < IE *edont- (< base *ed-, to eat) > L dens (gen. dentis), Gr odous (gen. odontos)
transitive verb
- to provide with teeth
- to make jagged; indent
intransitive verb
to mesh, or become interlocked, as gears
Related Forms:
- toothless tooth′·less adjective
tooth Idioms
long in the tooth
elderly; old
tooth and nail
with all one's strength or resources
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