What does "tooth" mean?
A hard, calcareous structure present in the mouth of many vertebrate animals, generally used for biting and chewing food.
Tooth
/tuːθ/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A hard, calcareous structure present in the mouth of many vertebrate animals, generally used for biting and chewing food.
- Grammar: tooth is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: acrodont, aftertaste, asperity, baby tooth.
- Useful contrasts: toothlessness.
- Usage evidence: An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
How to use "tooth"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "tooth" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "tooth" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "tooth" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "tooth" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "tooth" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "acrodont" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "tooth", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A hard, calcareous structure present in the mouth of many vertebrate animals, generally used for biting and chewing food.
"tooth decay"
- 2 a means of enforcement wordnet
- 3 A sharp projection on the blade of a saw or similar implement.
- 4 toothlike structure in invertebrates found in the mouth or alimentary canal or on a shell wordnet
- 5 A projection on the edge of a gear that meshes with similar projections on adjacent gears, or on the circumference of a cog that engages with a chain.
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 something resembling the tooth of an animal wordnet
- 7 Of a rope, the stickiness when in contact with another rope as in a knot.
"Jute has more tooth than polypropylene."
- 8 one of a number of uniform projections on a gear wordnet
- 9 A projection or point in other parts of the body resembling the tooth of a vertebrate animal.
"Species XXXVI. Obliquaria bullata— (Unio bullata) […] Found at the falls of Ohio; rare; breadth almost two inches; cardinal and lamellar teeth like preceding species; apices rounded, decorticated, but not truncated"
- 10 hard bonelike structures in the jaws of vertebrates; used for biting and chewing or for attack and defense wordnet
- 11 A pointed projection from the margin of a leaf.
- 12 The rough surface of some kinds of cel or other films that allows better adhesion of artwork.
- 13 Liking, fondness (compare toothsome). figuratively
"I have a sweet tooth: I love sugary treats."
- 14 An irreducible component of a comb that intersects the handle in exactly one point, that point being distinct from the unique point of intersection for any other tooth of the comb.
Verb
- 1 To provide or furnish with teeth.
"His Wife sate near him, teasing matted wool, / While, from the twin cards toothed with glittering wire / He fed the spindle […]"
- 2 To indent; to jag.
"to tooth a saw"
- 3 To lock into each other, like gear wheels.
"Whereas if the Header of one side of the wall, toothed as much as the Stretcher on the other side, it would be a stronger Toothing, and the joints of the Header on one side, would be in the middle of the Headers of the course they lie upon of the other side"
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "tooth"?
Common synonyms include: acrodont, aftertaste, asperity, baby tooth, bicuspid, bite.
How do you use "tooth" in a sentence?
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
How do you pronounce "tooth"?
Pronounced /tuːθ/.
Etymology
From Middle English tothe, toth, tooth, from Old English tōþ (“tooth”), from Proto-West Germanic *tanþ, from Proto-Germanic *tanþs (“tooth”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃dónts (“tooth”). Related to tusk and tine. Doublet of dent, dens, tind, and tine. Cognates Cognate with Scots tuith (“tooth”), North Frisian Ter, teän, tosch, toske, tuis, tus, tusch, täis (“tooth”), Saterland Frisian Tusk (“tooth”), West Frisian tosk (“tooth”), Bavarian Zåhn (“tooth”), Dutch tand (“tooth”), German Zahn (“tooth”), Limburgish tandj (“tooth”), Luxembourgish Zant (“tooth”), Vilamovian cōn (“tooth”), Yiddish צאָן (tson, “tooth”), Danish and Swedish tand (“tooth”), Faroese tonn (“tooth”), Icelandic tönn (“tooth”), Norwegian Bokmål tann (“tooth”), Norwegian Nynorsk tann, tonn (“tooth”); also Breton and Welsh dant (“tooth”), Cornish dans (“tooth”), Irish déad (“tooth”), Scottish Gaelic deud (“tooth”), Latin dēns (“tooth”), Ancient Greek ὀδούς (odoús), ὀδών (odṓn, “tooth”), Lithuanian dantis (“tooth”), Bulgarian and Russian десна (desna, “gum”), Czech dáseň (“gum”), Polish dziąsło (“gum”), Slovak ďasno (“gum”), Ukrainian я́сна (jásna, “gum”), Armenian ատամ (atam, “tooth”), Ossetian дӕндаг (dændag, “tooth”), Baluchi دنتان (dantán), دتھاں (datʰāⁿ, “tooth”), Central Kurdish ددان (ddan, “tooth”), Northern Kurdish didan, diran (“tooth”), Persian دندان (dandân, “tooth”), Sanskrit दत् (dat), दन्त (danta, “tooth”).