Tooth /(to͡oth)/

Tooth

n.

pl. Teeth ((tēth))

  1. One of the hard, bony appendages which are borne on the jaws, or on other bones in the walls of the mouth or pharynx of most vertebrates, and which usually aid in the prehension and mastication of food. (Anat.)
    How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is To have a thankless child!
  2. Fig.: Taste; palate.
    These are not dishes for thy dainty tooth.
  3. Any projection corresponding to the tooth of an animal, in shape, position, or office; as, the teeth, or cogs, of a cogwheel; a tooth, prong, or tine, of a fork; a tooth, or the teeth, of a rake, a saw, a file, a card.
  4. A projecting member resembling a tenon, but fitting into a mortise that is only sunk, not pierced through.
  5. An angular or prominence on any edge; as, a tooth on the scale of a fish, or on a leaf of a plant (Nat. Hist.)
  6. Any hard calcareous or chitinous organ found in the mouth of various invertebrates and used in feeding or procuring food; as, the teeth of a mollusk or a starfish. (Zool.)

Phrases & Compounds
In spite of the teeth
in defiance of opposition; in opposition to every effort.
In the teeth
directly; in direct opposition; in front.
To cast in the teeth
to report reproachfully; to taunt or insult one with.
Tooth and nail
as if by biting and scratching; with one's utmost power; by all possible means.
Tooth coralline
any sertularian hydroid.
Tooth edge
the sensation excited in the teeth by grating sounds, and by the touch of certain substances, as keen acids.
Tooth key
an instrument used to extract teeth by a motion resembling that of turning a key.
Tooth net
a large fishing net anchored.
Tooth ornament
Same as Dogtooth, n., 2.
Tooth paste
a paste for cleaning the teeth; a dentifrice.
Tooth powder
a powder for cleaning the teeth; a dentifrice.
Tooth rash
See Red-gum, 1.
To show the teeth
to threaten.
To the teeth
in open opposition; directly to one's face.

Tooth

v. t.

imp. & p. p. Toothed; p. pr. & vb. n. Toothing

  1. To furnish with teeth.
    The twin cards toothed with glittering wire.
  2. To indent; to jag; as, to tooth a saw.
  3. To lock into each other. See Tooth, n., 4.