tooth

Pluralteeth

Formstooths, toothing, toothed

1. 1
   in the mouthnouncountable

   In many vertebrates, any of the hard, calcium-rich structures in the mouth that serve for biting and chewing food.

   A cracked tooth can cause severe pain when you eat something cold.

   Crocodiles replace their teeth many times over a lifetime.

   UsagePlural teeth (not incorrect: tooths). Common phrases: brush your teeth, lose a tooth, pull a tooth.

2. 2
   likingnounfigurativelycountable

   A liking or fondness for something.

   Grandpa has a sweet tooth and always keeps a bag of lemon drops in his coat pocket.

   Her sweet tooth got the better of her, and she ordered a second slice of pie.

   UsageToday mostly in have a sweet tooth, a liking for sugary food.

   Similartaste, fondness, appetite, palate

   Oppositeaversion, distaste, dislike

   Note

   Taste pictured as appetite: the mouth stands for what a person enjoys. Older writers let it range more freely. John Dryden, translating Persius in 1692, writes "These are not dishes for thy dainty tooth." Palate works the same way, so a dainty tooth and a delicate palate are close cousins.

   I have a sweet tooth: I love sugary treats.

   These are not dishes for thy dainty tooth.

3. 3
   nouncountable

   Any of a row of projecting points or parts along the edge of a tool or mechanism, such as a saw, comb, rake, or gear, that cut, grip, or mesh with something.

   Each tooth on the new saw was set at a slight angle for a cleaner cut.

   Years of use had dulled the teeth of the hand saw.

4. 4
   tiny body spikenouncountable

   A pointed projection on another part of the body that resembles a tooth in the mouth of a vertebrate.

   Each tiny tooth on the snail's radula scrapes algae from the rock.

   Certain rays bear hardened teeth along the gill arches.

   Note

   Zoologists stretch the word to any toothlike point, even on an animal with no jaw at all. The English translation of Constantine Samuel Rafinesque's study of Ohio River mussels speaks of a shell's "cardinal and lamellar teeth". These are the interlocking points on a bivalve's hinge, and they are named and compared when telling one species from another. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 6 facts

   • Bivalves lack jaws. umdb.um.u-tokyo.ac.jp
   • Constantine Samuel Rafinesque wrote a study of Ohio River bivalves. en.wiktionary.org
   • The study was translated into English. upload.wikimedia.org
   • The English text contains the exact phrase "cardinal and lamellar teeth" in a shell description. en.wiktionary.org
   • These teeth are interlocking projections at a bivalve's hinge. bgs.ac.uk
   • Hinge teeth are distinguished by type and compared to identify mussel species. amnh.org
5. 5
   leaf edgenouncountable

   In botany, one of the sharp points that project from a leaf's margin, as in serrated leaves.

   Every tooth along the nettle's margin is visible through a hand lens.

   Botanists count the teeth on a leaf to tell similar species apart.

   Similarserration

   Note

   Botany uses the word for the small points that break up a leaf's edge. It describes the edge itself as toothed, which is the participle of the verb "to furnish with teeth". A botanist's description of a leaf margin usually turns on these points: their size, how far apart they sit, and which way they face. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

   • "Toothed" is the past participle of "tooth". en.wiktionary.org
   • The verb "tooth" means to furnish with teeth. en.wiktionary.org
   • The size of marginal teeth is a feature used in leaf descriptions. landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu
   • The spacing of marginal teeth is used in plant identification. naturalresources.extension.iastate.edu
   • The direction of marginal teeth distinguishes types of leaf margin. landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu

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