1. [n]  a means of enforcement; "the treaty had no teeth in it"
2. [n]  toothlike structure in invertebrates found in the mouth or alimentary canal or on a shell
3. [n]  something resembling the tooth of an animal
4. [n]  one of a number of uniform projections on a gear
5. [n]  hard bonelike structures in the jaws of vertebrates; used for biting and chewing or for attack and defense

1. \Tooth\, n.; pl. {Teeth}. [OE. toth,tooth, AS. t[=o][eth];
   akin to OFries. t[=o]th, OS. & D. tand, OHG. zang, zan, G.
   zahn, Icel. t["o]nn, Sw. & Dan. tand, Goth. tumpus, Lith.
   dantis, W. dant, L. dens, dentis, Gr. 'odoy`s, 'odo`ntos,
   Skr. danta; probably originally the p. pr. of the verb to
   eat. [root]239. Cf. {Eat}, {Dandelion}, {Dent} the tooth of a
   wheel, {Dental}, {Dentist}, {Indent}, {Tine} of a fork,
   {Tusk}. ]
   1. (Anat.) One of the hard, bony appendages which are borne
      on the jaws, or on other bones in the walls of the mouth
      or pharynx of most vertebrates, and which usually aid in
      the prehension and mastication of food.
   Note: The hard parts of teeth are principally made up of
         dentine, or ivory, and a very hard substance called
         enamel. These are variously combined in different
         animals. Each tooth consist of three parts, a crown, or
         body, projecting above the gum, one or more fangs
         imbedded in the jaw, and the neck, or intermediate
         part. In some animals one or more of the teeth are
         modified into tusks which project from the mouth, as in
         both sexes of the elephant and of the walrus, and in
         the male narwhal. In adult man there are thirty-two
         teeth, composed largely of dentine, but the crowns are
         covered with enamel, and the fangs with a layer of bone
         called cementum. Of the eight teeth on each half of
         each jaw, the two in front are incisors, then come one
         canine, cuspid, or dog tooth, two bicuspids, or false
         molars, and three molars, or grinding teeth. The milk,
         or temporary, teeth are only twenty in number, there
         being two incisors, one canine, and two molars on each
         half of each jaw. The last molars, or wisdom teeth,
         usually appear long after the others, and occasionally
         do not appear above the jaw at all.
               How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is To have
               a thankless child !                --Shak.
   2. Fig.: Taste; palate.
            These are not dishes for thy dainty tooth. --Dryden.
   3. Any projection corresponding to the tooth of an animal, in
      shape, position, or office; as, the teeth, or cogs, of a
      cogwheel; a tooth, prong, or tine, of a fork; a tooth, or
      the teeth, of a rake, a saw, a file, a card.
   4.
      (a) A projecting member resembling a tenon, but fitting
          into a mortise that is only sunk, not pierced through.
      (b) One of several steps, or offsets, in a tusk. See
          {Tusk}.
   5. (Nat. Hist.) An angular or prominence on any edge; as, a
      tooth on the scale of a fish, or on a leaf of a plant;
      specifically (Bot.), one of the appendages at the mouth of
      the capsule of a moss. See {Peristome}.
   6. (Zo["o]l.) Any hard calcareous or chitinous organ found in
      the mouth of various invertebrates and used in feeding or
      procuring food; as, the teeth of a mollusk or a starfish.
   {In spite of the teeth}, in defiance of opposition; in
      opposition to every effort.
   {In the teeth}, directly; in direct opposition; in front.
      ``Nor strive with all the tempest in my teeth.'' --Pope.
   {To cast in the teeth}, to report reproachfully; to taunt or
      insult one with.
   {Tooth and nail}, as if by biting and scratching; with one's
      utmost power; by all possible means. --L'Estrange. ``I
      shall fight tooth and nail for international copyright.''
      --Charles Reade.
   {Tooth coralline} (Zo["o]l.), any sertularian hydroid.
   {Tooth edge}, the sensation excited in the teeth by grating
      sounds, and by the touch of certain substances, as keen
      acids.
   {Tooth key}, an instrument used to extract teeth by a motion
      resembling that of turning a key.
   {Tooth net}, a large fishing net anchored. [Scot.]
      --Jamieson.
   {Tooth ornament}. (Arch.) Same as {Dogtooth}, n., 2.
   {Tooth powder}, a powder for cleaning the teeth; a
      dentifrice.
   {Tooth rash}. (Med.) See {Red-gum}, 1.
   {To show the teeth}, to threaten. ``When the Law shows her
      teeth, but dares not bite.'' --Young.
   {To the teeth}, in open opposition; directly to one's face.
      ``That I shall live, and tell him to his teeth .'' --Shak.
   

2. \Tooth\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Toothed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Toothing}.]
   1. To furnish with teeth.
            The twin cards toothed with glittering wire.
                                                  --Wordsworth.
   2. To indent; to jag; as, to tooth a saw.
   3. To lock into each other. See {Tooth}, n., 4. --Moxon.
   

one of the particulars regarding which retaliatory punishment was to be inflicted (Ex. 21:24; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21). "Gnashing of teeth" =rage, despair (Matt. 8:12; Acts 7:54); "cleanness of teeth" =famine (Amos 4:6); "children's teeth set on edge" =children suffering for the sins of their fathers (Ezek. 18:2).