# toothing

Pronunciation: say "TOOTH-ing" US /ˈtuθɪŋ/, UK /ˈtuːθɪŋ/

## Noun

1. The act or process of cutting notches into an edge or fitting it with teeth.
   - Simple: Making notches or fitting small teeth along the edge of something.
   - _The toothing of the file determines how aggressively it cuts._
   - _Careful toothing along the rim turned the flat disc into a working saw._
2. The process of teeth growing in, especially an infant's first teeth.
   - Simple: The time when a baby's first teeth start to grow.
   - _Her son's toothing brought weeks of restless nights._
   - _Pediatricians offer parents tips for easing the discomfort of toothing._
4. Bricks left alternately projecting at the end of a wall so that a continuation can be bonded into it when the rest is built up.
   - Simple: Bricks left sticking out at the end of a wall so a new part can join onto it later.
   - _The mason left toothing along the gable to tie in the future garden wall._
   - _Surveyors noted the toothing as evidence the terrace was always meant to extend._
5. The pattern of teeth along a leaf margin, as seen in dentate, serrate, or crenate leaves.
   - Simple: The pattern of small tooth-like points along the edge of a leaf.
   - _Botanists distinguish the species by the toothing of its leaves._
   - _Sharp toothing along the margin marked it as a serrate variety._
6. The tooth-like projections along the perforated edges of a stamp after it is separated from its sheet.
   - Simple: The small points left along a stamp's edge after it is torn from the sheet.
   - _An expert examines the toothing to judge whether a stamp was cleanly separated._
   - _Uneven toothing suggested the stamp had been torn rather than properly perforated._
7. The supposed use of Bluetooth-enabled phones or PDAs to arrange random sexual encounters, in fact a hoax meant to expose journalists' gullibility and poor fact-checking.
   - Simple: A made-up trend of using Bluetooth phones to set up sex with strangers, invented to see if reporters would check facts.
   - _Tabloids breathlessly reported that toothing had become a craze among young commuters._
   - _Within weeks, fact-checkers revealed that toothing had never actually happened._

## Verb

3. Present participle and gerund of tooth. — present participle and gerund of tooth
   - Simple: Present participle of tooth. Use this -ing form for an action happening now.
   - _The craftsman was toothing the comb's spine by hand all afternoon._
   - _Toothing the blade properly takes patience and a steady hand._

## Origin

Formed from "tooth" combined with the suffix "-ing".

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