teeth
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English teth, plural of tothe, from Old English tēþ, nominative plural of tōþ, from earlier *tœ̄þ, from Proto-Germanic *tanþiz, nominative plural of *tanþs, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃dóntes, nominative plural of *h₃dónts.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
teeth
Noun edit
teeth pl (plural only)
- (informal) The ability to be enforced, or to be enforced to any useful effect.
- The international community's sanctions against the regime had some teeth to them this time around.
Synonyms edit
- (plural of "tooth"): chompers, pearly whites, Hampstead Heath
- (ability to be enforced): enforceability
Derived terms edit
- arm to the teeth
- bare one's teeth
- better than a kick in the teeth
- bit between one's teeth
- bone in her teeth
- British teeth
- brush one's teeth
- by God's teeth
- by the skin of one's teeth
- cast in someone's teeth
- cast something in someone's teeth
- cut one's teeth
- dragon's teeth
- elephant's teeth
- false teeth
- fed up to the back teeth
- fed up to the teeth
- front teeth
- get one's teeth into / sink one's teeth into
- give one's eye-teeth
- gnash one's teeth
- God's teeth
- grit one's teeth
- hell's teeth
- in spite of someone's teeth
- in the teeth of
- kick in the teeth
- kiss one's teeth
- lie through one's teeth
- make someone's teeth itch
- my back teeth are floating
- no skin off one's teeth
- one's teeth water
- pull teeth
- rare as hen's teeth
- rarer than hen's teeth
- rarer than hens' teeth
- scarce as hen's teeth
- set one's teeth on edge
- set someone's teeth on edge
- show one's teeth
- sick to the back teeth
- sink one's teeth in
- skin of the teeth
- sow dragon's teeth
- suck one's teeth
- summer teeth
- summerteeth
- teeth arm
- teeth-baring
- teeth-less
- teeth mark
- teeth-to-tail ratio
- the wolf may lose his teeth but never his nature
- throw something in someone's teeth
- weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth
- with the skin of one's teeth
Verb edit
teeth (third-person singular simple present teeths, present participle teething, simple past and past participle teethed)
- Dated spelling of teethe (“to grow teeth”).
- 1943, Herman Niels Bundesen, Our Babies, page 81:
- Thus, a mother should not think that there is something wrong just because her baby teeths, crawls, walks, or talks earlier or later than her neighbor's baby.