English Reference

Word

tooth

US/ˈtuθ/

UK/tˈuːθ/

Definitions

01in the mouth

A1 · Beginner Countable noun

n. one of the hard, white objects in your mouth that you use for biting and chewing food.

n. a hard, calcareous structure in the jaws of vertebrates used for mastication and defense.

“The baby just got her first tooth, so she is chewing on everything.”

“The dentist recommended a specific fluoride treatment to strengthen the enamel of the patient's front teeth after the accident.”

Pitfall

I need to brush my tooths.

I need to brush my teeth.

The plural of 'tooth' is irregular: 'teeth'.

02on a tool or gear

B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun Technology

n. a sharp, pointed part on the edge of a tool like a saw, or on a wheel in a machine.

n. a sharp projection on the blade of a saw or the edge of a gear designed to engage with another part.

“The saw was old and had a broken tooth, making it hard to cut wood.”

“The mechanical failure was traced back to a sheared tooth on the primary drive gear, which prevented the two wheels from meshing correctly.”

03surface texture

C2 · Proficiency Uncountable noun Technical

n. a slightly rough surface on paper or film that helps paint or ink stick to it.

n. the surface texture or grain of a material, such as paper or canvas, that allows for the adhesion of media.

“This charcoal paper has a nice tooth that holds the pigment well.”

“The artist preferred a heavy-weight watercolor paper with significant tooth to ensure the multiple layers of wash would not slide off the surface.”

Synonyms

Antonyms

04to provide with teeth

C2 · Proficiency Technical

v. to cut or shape the edge of something so it has sharp points like a saw.

v. to furnish an object with teeth or to indent a surface so as to create a jagged edge.

“The machine is designed to tooth the metal strips automatically.”

“The craftsman carefully toothed the edge of the joinery to ensure the two wooden components would lock together securely.”

Synonyms

indentserrate

Antonyms

Etymology

From Middle English tothe, toth, tooth, from Old English tōþ (“tooth”), from Proto-West Germanic tanþ (“tooth”), from Proto-Germanic tanþs (“tooth”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃dónts (“tooth”). Related to tusk. 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”), Norn tann, tant (“tooth”), Norwegian Bokmål tann (“tooth”), Norwegian Nynorsk tann, tonn (“tooth”), Breton and Welsh dant (“tooth”), Cornish dans (“tooth”), Irish déad (“tooth”), Scottish Gaelic deud (“tooth”), Asturian, Leonese, Mirandese, and Spanish diente (“tooth”), Aragonese dien (“tooth”), Catalan and French dent (“tooth”), Galician, Italian, and Portuguese dente (“tooth”), Romanian dinte (“tooth”), Latin dēns (“tooth”), Ancient Greek ὀδούς (odoús), ὀδών (odṓn, “tooth”), Lithuanian dantis (“tooth”), Belarusian дзясна́ (dzjasná, “gum”), Bulgarian and Russian десна (desna, “gum”), Czech dáseň (“gum”), Polish dziąsło (“gum”), Serbo-Croatian dȇsni (“gum”), Slovak ďasno (“gum”), Slovene dlesni (“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”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Word family

ADJECTIVE

Related words

Idioms

Domains

BotanyZoology

This entry

Exam level
CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.A1 MoversIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.2.0–3.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 1.0–1.50–23TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.120–224
Frequency
Common
Level
A1 · BeginnerOxford
Updated

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