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| tooth [ tooth ] |
noun (plural teeth [ teeth ]) |
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| Definition: |
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1. whitish bony object in mouth: a hard whitish bony object inside a human or vertebrate animal's mouth, used for biting and chewing food
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2. invertebrate part resembling tooth: a sharp part on an invertebrate made of horny, calcareous, or chitinous material and functioning like or resembling a vertebrate tooth
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3. indentation: an object with the shape or function of a tooth, e.g. one of the jagged indentations along the edge of a saw or leaf
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4. part sticking out on gear wheel: a part that sticks out from the edge of a gear wheel or sprocket, designed to interlock with a similar part on another wheel
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5. surface roughness allowing substance to adhere: the roughness of a surface, especially that of paper, that allows paints, glues, and other substances to stick to it
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6. taste for something: a liking for the taste of something
  a sweet tooth
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7. something destructive: something that has the power to destroy
(
usually used in the plural
)
the teeth of the gale
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plural noun teeth |
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| Definition: |
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effective power: the power or ability to accomplish something
Sanctions without teeth won't do any good.
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verb (past and past participle toothed, present participle tooth·ing, 3rd person present singular tooths) |
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| Definition: |
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1. transitive verb put teeth on something: to give something teeth, especially to cut teeth into a saw blade or around the edge of a gear wheel or sprocket
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2. intransitive verb fit together with interlocking teeth: to interlock by means of teeth that fit one set inside the other
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| [ Old English tōþ< Indo-European] |
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| toothed adjective |
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armed to the teeth (with something) extremely well armed or equipped with something (informal)
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cut your teeth (on something) to learn how to do something and gain experience from it
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get your teeth into something to start doing something that will be challenging and satisfying
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a kick in the teeth a severe disappointment or setback (informal)
Losing the match was a real kick in the teeth after last week's game.
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in the teeth of against opposition or contradiction from
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kiss teeth to suck air in noisily through the teeth in order to express displeasure or disagreement (slang)used in Black English
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like pulling teeth extremely difficult, often because of a lack of cooperation (informal)
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set somebody's teeth on edge to annoy or irritate somebody
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show or bare your teeth to indicate that you have power and intend to use it
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tooth and nail very aggressively, or with every available means
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