back tooth
3
2.2
- noun
- When I went to the dentist, he told me that one of my back teeth had a cavity.
- a filling in a back tooth
- grind her back teeth
- surface of the back teeth
Examples
-
I lost a filling in one of my back teeth.
-
His back teeth were perfectly healthy and white.
Fiction book (1997) -
A pair of her back teeth were missing.
-
My back teeth are floating.
-
Then she showed him how to brush them correctly - up and down, being sure not to miss the back teeth.
Fiction book (1998) -
Was Arlette missing a couple of back teeth?
-
My back teeth begin to ache again.
Fiction book (1994) -
He had a lot of fillings in his back teeth.
Fiction book (1994) -
I stand behind that counter all day long... smilin' till my back teeth ache.
-
Walter Demming felt his back teeth clenching tightly.
Fiction book (1995)
Synonyms
25
2.5
A large flat tooth at the back of the mouth for grinding food
12
3.2
A back tooth that usually appears in the late teens or early adult years
2
4.0
A tooth between the pointed front teeth and back teeth that helps grind food
1
7.4
A tooth with two small points between the front teeth and molars
1
6.8
A tooth at the back of the mouth like a molar
A large back tooth with a wide top that helps chew food
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a tooth located toward the back of the mouth' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'back' (rear) with 'tooth' (a chewing/biting structure); it is a straightforward adjective+noun description (e.g., molar or premolar). This compositional pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows basic English modification rules, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Back tooth comes from joining back and tooth to name a tooth at the back of the mouth, the molars used for chewing. That's why it means 'a tooth located toward the back of the mouth'.