tooth
- noun
- /tiːθ/
- 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.
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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.
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The new policy gives the agency more tooth to enforce environmental regulations.
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With new funding, the organization can finally have the tooth necessary to implement its programs effectively.
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The court's recent decision adds tooth to the existing laws on consumer protection.
Antonyms
Idioms
To punish someone in the same way they hurt another person
Compounds
- Baby Talk
An imaginary person who takes a child's lost baby tooth and leaves money under the pillow
- Specialized
Damage to a tooth's hard surface caused by bacteria that often makes a hole
- Specialized
A child's baby tooth that falls out and is replaced by an adult tooth
- Specialized
A tooth that cannot come through the gum because other teeth block it
- Specialized
A large sharp tooth in meat-eating mammals for cutting meat from bone
- Specialized
A nerve disease that runs in families and makes the muscles of the hands and lower legs weak and thin
- Specialized
A small plant that grows in woods and makes pretty spring flowers and is grown in gardens
- Specialized
A tree from eastern North America with large leaves that have rough edges and light bark
- Specialized
A small surgical tool that has tiny teeth at the tips and holds delicate body tissue
- Specialized
A sea animal that has a long thin shell open at both ends and a foot for digging in sand
A North American spring flower with white petals and a yellow center
How Enforceable
Surface Forms
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.