teeth

English

Etymology

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

• IPA^(key): /tiːθ/

• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -iːθ

Noun

teeth

1. plural of tooth

Noun

teeth pl (plural only)

1. (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

• (plural of "tooth"): chompers, pearly whites, Hampstead Heath
• (ability to be enforced): enforceability

Derived terms

Terms derived from teeth

• arm to the teeth
• by the skin of one's teeth
• cut one's teeth
• get one's teeth into / sink one's teeth into
• give one's eye-teeth
• gnash one's teeth
• grit one's teeth
• in the teeth of
• lie through one's teeth
• set one's teeth on edge
• summerteeth
• teeth arm
• teeth-to-tail ratio

Verb

teeth (third-person singular simple present teeths, present participle teething, simple past and past participle teethed)

1. 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.

See also

• toothless