From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtoothtooth /tuːθ/ ●●● S2 W2 noun (plural teeth /tiːθ/) [countable] 1 in mouthHBA one of the hard white objects in your mouth that you use to bite and eat food Sugar is bad for your teeth. → baby tooth, → canine tooth at canine2(1), eye tooth(2), milk tooth, wisdom tooth, buck teeth, false teeth, gap-toothed2 on a tool etcDCB one of the sharp or pointed parts that sticks out from the edge of a comb or saw3 → have teeth4 → fight tooth and nail5 → get your teeth into something6 → in the teeth of something7 → set somebody’s teeth on edge → armed to the teeth at armed(1), → cut your teeth on something at cut1(23), → by the skin of your teeth at skin1(9), → a kick in the teeth at kick2(5), → lie through your teeth at lie2(1), → have a sweet tooth at sweet1(7), → take the bit between your teeth at bit2(9)COLLOCATIONSverbsbrush your teeth (also clean your teeth British English)I brush my teeth twice a day.floss your teeth (=clean between your teeth using dental floss)My dentist said I should floss my teeth more.have a tooth out British English, have a tooth pulled American English (=have a tooth removed)He’s gone to the dentist to have a tooth out.lose a tooth (=no longer have it)Many of the men had lost all their teeth by the age of 40.extract a tooth (=take it out)The dentist announced that she would have to extract two teeth.bare your teeth (=show them, especially in an angry or threatening way)The dog bared its teeth and snarled.grit/clench your teeth (=put them firmly together)He was gritting his teeth against the pain.grind your teeth (also gnash your teeth literary) (=move them against each other because you are angry)Kate ground her teeth in helpless rage.sink your teeth into something (=put your teeth into someone’s flesh, into food etc)The dog sank its teeth into the boy’s hand.somebody’s teeth chatter (=hit together quickly because someone is cold or afraid)My teeth began to chatter, and I regretted leaving my jacket behind.be cutting a tooth (=have one of your first teeth growing)Poor little Patrick was cutting another tooth and we had hardly had any sleep.adjectivessomebody’s front/back teethSome of his front teeth were missing.white/yellowHis teeth were white and even.sharpThe fish has small but very sharp teeth.good/perfectShe smiled, showing a mouthful of perfect teeth.bad/rottenShe felt ashamed of her bad teeth and rarely smiled.even (=all of the same height)His teeth were white and even.crookedHe grinned at me, showing rotten, crooked teeth.looseI had a loose tooth.tooth + NOUNtooth decayBrushing regularly helps prevent tooth decay.COMMON ERRORS ► Don’t say ‘wash your teeth’. Say brush your teeth or clean your teeth.
Examples from the Corpus
tooth• With clenched teeth, keeping her head low and her eyes half-closed, she hugged the cliff-face and inched her way along.• Their immediate diagnosis was that the patient had swallowed her false teeth.• Even sociology, it turns out, can be red in tooth and claw.• The chimpanzee then pulls out the grass stem and picks off the termites with its teeth, smacking its lips with pleasure.• He retrieved his birds, the globe, the teeth, a few books.• We were both the sort of people who just can't let go once they have got their teeth into something.• Brush your teeth twice a day.• Brush your teeth, put on your jeans and go to the office.Origin tooth Old English toth 