tooth S2 W2 /tuːθ/ noun (plural teeth /tiːθ/) [countable]
[Language: Old English; Origin: toth]

1. IN MOUTH one of the hard white objects in your mouth that you use to bite and eat food:
Sugar is bad for your teeth. ⇒ baby tooth, ⇒ canine tooth at canine²(1), ⇒ eye tooth(2), milk tooth, wisdom tooth, buck teeth, false teeth, gap-toothed

2. ON A TOOL ETC one of the sharp or pointed parts that sticks out from the edge of a comb or saw

3. POWER have teeth if a law or an organization has teeth, it has the power to force people to obey it:
We need an Environment Agency that really has teeth.

4. fight tooth and nail to try with a lot of effort or determination to do something:
We fought tooth and nail to get these plans accepted.

5. get your teeth into something informal to start to do something with a lot of energy and determination:
I can’t wait to get my teeth into the new course.

6. in the teeth of something in spite of opposition or danger from something:
Permission for the development was granted in the teeth of opposition from local shopkeepers.

7. set sb’s teeth on edge if a sound or taste sets your teeth on edge, it gives you an uncomfortable feeling in your mouth:
a horrible scraping sound that set my teeth on edge
⇒ armed to the teeth at armed(1), ⇒ cut your teeth on something at cut¹(23), ⇒ by the skin of your teeth at skin¹(9), ⇒ be a kick in the teeth at kick²(5), ⇒ lie through your teeth at lie²(1), ⇒ have a sweet tooth at sweet¹(7), ⇒ take the bit between your teeth at bit²(9)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

tooth
noun
ADJ. big, enormous, huge | gappy She wore a brace to correct her gappy teeth.
prominent, sticking-out I used to be self-conscious of my sticking-out teeth.
even, straight | crooked, jagged (often figurative), misshapen Her smile showed crooked teeth. Skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth.
broken, missing | good, healthy, pearl-like, pearl-white, perfect, splendid, strong, white | yellow | decayed, rotten | loose, wobbly | aching | capped, false, gold | needle-sharp, razor-sharp, sharp Mink have razor-sharp teeth.
savage | back, front | bottom, top | canine | baby, milk I've still got one of my baby teeth.
wisdom
VERB + TOOTH have | brush, clean | extract, pull out, remove | have out I've just had a tooth out at the dentist's.
knock out | lose I lost three teeth in the fight.
fill | bare, reveal, show The dog bared its teeth at us and growled. The man smiled, revealing perfect white teeth.
clamp, clench, grit He broke off what he was saying, clamping his teeth together. She answered through clenched teeth (= opening her mouth only a little because of anger).
clamp sth between/in His pipe was firmly clamped between his teeth.
gnash, grind | sink The cat sank its teeth into his finger.
cut The baby's crying because he's cutting a new tooth (= a new one is coming through).
TOOTH + VERB be/come through Billy's first tooth is now through.
fall out | bite sb/sth, nip sb/sth, sink into sb/sth, snap together | ache | chatter Their teeth were chattering with cold.
flash, gleam, glint, shine Her teeth flashed as she smiled.
grin
TOOTH + NOUN decay, loss | abscess | enamel | mark The cat left teeth marks in my arm.
PREP. against the/your ~ He clashed the spoon against his teeth as he ate.
between the/your ~ She answered the phone with a cigarette between her teeth.
in the/your ~ The cat came in with a mouse in its teeth.
through the/your ~ ‘Come here now!’ she growled through her teeth.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

tooth

brush your teeth (also clean your teeth British English)
I brush my teeth twice a day.
floss your teeth (=clean between your teeth using dental floss)
My dentist said I should floss my teeth more.
have a tooth out British English, have a tooth pulled American English (=have a tooth removed)
He's gone to the dentist to have a tooth out.
lose a tooth (=no longer have it)
Many of the men had lost all their teeth by the age of 40.
extract a tooth (=take it out)
The dentist announced that she would have to extract two teeth.
bare your teeth (=show them, especially in an angry or threatening way)
The dog bared its teeth and snarled.
grit/clench your teeth (=put them firmly together)
He was gritting his teeth against the pain.
grind your teeth (also gnash your teeth literary) (=move them against each other because you are angry)
Kate ground her teeth in helpless rage.
sink your teeth into something (=put your teeth into someone's flesh, into food etc)
The dog sank its teeth into the boy's hand.
somebody's teeth chatter (=hit together quickly because someone is cold or afraid)
My teeth began to chatter, and I regretted leaving my jacket behind.
be cutting a tooth (=have one of your first teeth growing)
Poor little Patrick was cutting another tooth and we had hardly had any sleep.
somebody's front/back teeth
Some of his front teeth were missing.
white/yellow
His teeth were white and even.
sharp
The fish has small but very sharp teeth.
good/perfect
She smiled, showing a mouthful of perfect teeth.
bad/rotten
She felt ashamed of her bad teeth and rarely smiled.
even (=all of the same height )
His teeth were white and even.
crooked
He grinned at me, showing rotten, crooked teeth.
loose
I had a loose tooth.
tooth decay
Brushing regularly helps prevent tooth decay.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

tooth
tu:θ
See: by the skin of one's teeth , cut teeth or cut eyeteeth , eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth , fed to the gills or fed to the teeth , get one's teeth into or sink one's teeth into , kick in the pants or kick in the teeth , pull one's teeth , set one's teeth on edge , take the bit in one's teeth , throw something in one's face or throw something in one's teeth

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲