/ tuːθ; NAmE / noun ( pl. teeth / tiːθ; NAmE /)
1.
any of the hard white structures in the mouth used for biting and chewing food :
I've just had a tooth out at the dentist's.
to brush / clean your teeth
tooth decay
She answered through clenched teeth (= opening her mouth only a little because of anger) .
The cat sank its teeth into his finger.
—picture at face
—see also buck teeth , false teeth , milk tooth , wisdom tooth
2.
a narrow pointed part that sticks out of an object :
the teeth on a saw
—picture at zip
—see also fine-tooth comb
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IDIOMS
- cut your teeth on sth
- cut a tooth
- get your teeth into sth
- have teeth
- in the teeth of sth
- set sb's teeth on edge
—more at armed verb , bare verb , bit , eye noun , eye teeth , fight verb , gnash , grit verb , hell , kick verb , kick noun , lie (II) verb , long adjective , red adjective , skin noun , sweet adjective
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English tōth (plural tēth ), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch tand and German Zahn , from an Indo-European root shared by Latin dent- , Greek odont- .