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tooth

tooth

117 8.5
Power to make people follow a rule or law
  • noun
  • /tiːθ/
translation icon : poder sancionador
  • He escapes by the skin of his teeth.
  • put teeth into
  • law had no teeth
  • give teeth to

Examples

  • Are you armed to the teeth?

  • It's a story a nation can sink its teeth into.

  • Put teeth in the Deportation Act.

  • Some components of international law gained new teeth, pressing human rights at the expense of state prerogatives.

    Academic text (2004)
  • Of course, as first lord of the treasury... I could propose a special vote that would cover all expenses - if it were not that, as leader of the opposition... it would be my duty to resist it tooth and nail.

  • The new policy gives the agency more tooth to enforce environmental regulations.

  • With new funding, the organization can finally have the tooth necessary to implement its programs effectively.

  • The court's recent decision adds tooth to the existing laws on consumer protection.

Antonyms

Not able to produce the result you want

Idioms

tooth and nail
  • Informal
19 5.8

You try very hard and do not give up

7 7.8

Old or getting old and not as good as before

Look through something very carefully to find small mistakes

tooth and claw
  • Literature
1 7.8

To fight very hard and often unfairly to win

To punish someone in the same way they hurt another person

Compounds

tooth fairy
  • Baby Talk
22 3.8

An imaginary person who takes a child's lost baby tooth and leaves money under the pillow

sweet tooth
  • Informal
20 2.8

A strong liking for sweet foods like candy and cake

19 1.0

A tooth at the front of the mouth used for cutting food

17 3.2

A back tooth that usually appears in the late teens or early adult years

14 1.2

A tooth that children have before their adult teeth grow

fine-tooth comb
  • Informal
7 4.3

A careful search that finds small mistakes or details

tooth decay
  • Specialized
5 2.2

Damage to a tooth's hard surface caused by bacteria that often makes a hole

2 3.3

A pointed tooth next to the front teeth that tears food

1 2.2

A tooth at the back of the mouth, like a molar

An adult tooth that replaces a baby one and should last most of life

1 2.3

A tooth that replaces a baby tooth and stays in the mouth

tooth enamel
  • Specialized
1 4.1

The hard white outer layer that covers the top of a tooth

abscessed tooth
  • Specialized
1 5.6

A tooth with a painful, infected swelling in the gum

deciduous tooth
  • Specialized
1 3.3

A child's baby tooth that falls out and is replaced by an adult tooth

eye tooth
  • Archaic
1 6.7

A pointed tooth next to the front teeth in each jaw

1 3.4

One of a child's first teeth that falls out and is replaced by an adult tooth

impacted tooth
  • Specialized
1 5.4

A tooth that cannot come through the gum because other teeth block it

A child's first tooth that falls out when an adult one grows

tooth powder
  • Archaic
1 3.3

A powder used to clean teeth instead of toothpaste

bleeding tooth
  • Specialized
9.9

A sea snail with red, tooth-like ridges at the shell opening

carnassial tooth
  • Specialized
9.7

A large sharp tooth in meat-eating mammals for cutting meat from bone

7.0

A nerve disease that runs in families and makes the muscles of the hands and lower legs weak and thin

The first baby tooth of a young horse sometimes kept as a lucky charm

dog's-tooth violet
  • Specialized
9.9

A small plant that grows in woods and makes pretty spring flowers and is grown in gardens

A small jagged check pattern on fabric often black and white

A comb with very close teeth used to remove lice from hair

large tooth aspen
  • Specialized
6.5

A tree from eastern North America with large leaves that have rough edges and light bark

malposed tooth
  • Specialized
9.3

A tooth that grows in the wrong place in the mouth

mouse-tooth forceps
  • Specialized
7.0

A small surgical tool that has tiny teeth at the tips and holds delicate body tissue

A cloth pattern of small broken checks usually black and white

A strong craving for salty foods like chips or pretzels

tooth socket
  • Specialized
4.2

A hollow in the jaw where a tooth sits

tooth fungus
  • Specialized
9.9

A mushroom with small spines under its cap instead of gills

tooth shell
  • Specialized
9.9

A sea animal that has a long thin shell open at both ends and a foot for digging in sand

tooth-drawer
  • Archaic
9.9

A tool for pulling out teeth used in old dental care

A liking for sour foods

A North American spring flower with white petals and a yellow center

How Enforceable

enforceable
  • Specialized
14 6.6
tooth
117 8.5
toothless
7 5.5

Surface Forms

tooth singular
teeth plural

Etymology

Tooth gives a simple picture: animals use teeth to bite, so when we say a law or rule has 'teeth' we mean it has real power to make people obey or to punish, and when something is 'toothless' it is weak.