# teeth

Pronunciation: say "TEETH" US /ˈtiθ/, UK /ˈtiːθ/

## Noun

1. Plural of tooth. — plural of tooth
   - Simple: Plural of tooth. Use this form when you mean more than one tooth.
   - _Years of drinking coffee had stained his teeth._
   - _The toddler lost two of her baby teeth this week._
2. The power of a rule, law, or agreement to be enforced effectively. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: The power that makes a law or rule strong enough to be obeyed.
   - _Critics argued the treaty lacked teeth, since no penalties applied to violations._
   - _The agency finally gained some teeth when Congress let it issue fines._

## Verb

3. To grow teeth, especially of an infant whose first teeth are pushing through the gums; a dated spelling of "teethe".
   - Simple: An old spelling of "teethe," which means to grow new teeth.
   - _Most children begin to teeth before their first birthday, drooling and chewing constantly._
   - _The puppy will teeth for several weeks, so give it something safe to chew._

## Origin

"Teeth" comes from Middle English teth, the plural of tothe, from Old English tēþ, the plural of tōþ. This traces back through Proto-Germanic *tanþiz to Proto-Indo-European *h₃dóntes, the plural of *h₃dónts.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/teeth (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).