Skip to main content
sharp teeth

sharp teeth

14 2.5
Pointed teeth that cut or pierce food, for example in sharks
  • noun
translation icon : dientes afilados
  • Here too, the lion's fierce open mouth and sharp teeth are emphasized.
  • razor-sharp teeth
  • rows of sharp teeth
  • big sharp teeth

Does it have, does it have like, sharp teeth, I guess?

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • The serpent's jaws open wide, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth and a crimson red mouth.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • The mountain dogs with their sharp teeth gnaw uselessly at pieces of bone.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • You will need more than sharp teeth to win this competition.

  • We knew that this was a powerful beast with very sharp teeth.

  • The fish are too strong to be gutted live; they have sharp teeth.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • In general, predators have long, strong, and sharp teeth that catch and tear the flesh.

    Blog text (29)
  • Called from their nests, the squirrels leaped on him, biting with very sharp teeth.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • The dracowolf bit into his thigh with sharp teeth, a location protected by Paskaal's microweave.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • The lion's sharp teeth can easily tear through flesh.

  • The predator's sharp teeth enable it to hunt effectively in the wild.

Antonyms

13 2.4

Having no teeth in the mouth

Surface Forms

sharp teeth singular
sharp teeth plural
sharp tooth singular

Morphology

sharp + teeth

The meaning is a straightforward composition of 'sharp' (having an edge or point that cuts) and 'teeth' (the biting structures), so a learner who knows both words can infer 'teeth that cut or pierce easily'. This adjective+noun pattern is common and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner would readily understand both literal and simple metaphorical uses.

Etymology

Sharp teeth comes from the image of animal teeth that look like little knives and the word sharp means able to 'cut or pierce'. So when an animal shows its sharp teeth, it can bite and cut prey, and the phrase means teeth that can 'cut or pierce' easily.