Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🪥 A brush for teeth 👨 A short mustache
toothbrush

toothbrush

1 9.9
A short narrow mustache like Charlie Chaplin's
  • noun
  • /ˈtuːθˌbrʌʃ/
  • Slang
translation icon : bigote cepillo
  • He glanced at me, his mouth all foamy, the toothbrush sticking out like a cigar.
  • toothbrush mustache

Well, that got complicated on Sunday, thanks to a new book by former national security adviser and lonely Grandpa Toothbrush John Bolton.

Examples

  • Actually, I wanted to see, I was like, oh, it's called a toothbrush mustache because that's the end of a toothbrush.

  • He was short and cocky, like Mickey Rooney, and he didn't seem to know his red hair stood up like the bristles of a toothbrush.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • The comedian's character featured a distinctive toothbrush mustache that made everyone laugh.

  • He styles his facial hair into a toothbrush mustache, giving him a unique appearance.

  • In the movie, the villain is known for his iconic toothbrush mustache, which adds to his comical image.

Synonyms

mustache
vstoothbrush
  • US
19 1.8

A thick, bushy growth of hair above the upper lip

is a small rectangular patch on the lip rather than a large growth
stache
vstoothbrush
  • Slang
8 9.3

Hair on the upper lip that men usually grow

is a short rectangular style rather than general upper lip hair
tash
vstoothbrush
  • UK
9.9

A short line of hair above the upper lip

is a specific short rectangular shape not just an informal name
soup-strainer
vstoothbrush
  • Slang
9.9

A thick mustache above the lip that catches food

is a compact rectangular patch not large or catching food

Compounds

electric toothbrush
5 2.3

A brush for cleaning teeth that uses a small motor to move the head

toothbrush tree
9.9

A small evergreen tree whose twigs people use to clean their teeth

How Thick

mustache
  • US
134 1.3
toothbrush
  • Slang
1 9.9

Surface Forms

toothbrush singular
toothbrushes plural

Morphology

toothbrush = tooth + brush (semi-transparent) = tooth + brush

A metaphorical/slang extension based on visual similarity (a short, rectangular mustache like toothbrush bristles), not a literal brush for teeth.

Etymology

Toothbrush as a slang name for a small, rectangular mustache comes from its shape — it looks like the short brush used to clean teeth, a style made famous by Charlie Chaplin. That's why people call that kind of mustache a toothbrush.