plural of tooth
"The new regulations have real teeth now that they are backed by actual fines."
The ability to be enforced, or to be enforced to any useful effect.
In plain English: Teeth are the hard, bony structures inside your mouth that you use to bite and chew food.
"The little child was crying because he had no teeth yet and couldn't eat his hard apple."
Usage: Teeth refers specifically to the hard bony structures in your mouth used for biting and chewing food; it is not a synonym for power or enforcement despite its plural form sounding like "teethe." Always use this word when describing dental anatomy, never as an abstract concept of authority.
Dated spelling of teethe (“to grow teeth”).
"The child's gums began to ache as they started to teethe during their first year."
In plain English: To teeth is to make your jaw grind together, usually because you are angry or upset about something.
"The dog started to tear at his shirt with its teeth while he tried to pull away."
The word "teeth" comes from the Old English tēþ and traveled into Middle English as teth before becoming modern teeth. It ultimately traces its roots back to Proto-Indo-European *h₃dóntes, which referred to a tooth or set of teeth in ancient languages.