1
: having no teeth
2
a
: lacking in sharpness or bite
spoke in toothless generalities—
Arthur Hepner
Arthur Hepner
b
: lacking in means of enforcement or coercion : ineffectual
Examples of toothless in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The legislation is also toothless because the affected city licensing agencies were never even consulted by the bill sponsors.
—Michael Burke, New York Daily News, 24 May 2025
Kfir, the infant with red hair and a toothless smile, became a symbol across Israel for the feelings of helplessness and anger over the hostages’ captivity.
—Associated Press, TIME, 22 Feb. 2025
The bill creates a toothless licensing regime with far less oversight than banks and allows shaky reserves as collateral.
—Mark Hays, Baltimore Sun, 12 May 2025
Of late, there have been some signs that Trump is willing to increase the pressure on Putin, even if in a rather toothless nature.
—Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 7 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for toothless
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Michael Burke, New York Daily News, 24 May 2025
Kfir, the infant with red hair and a toothless smile, became a symbol across Israel for the feelings of helplessness and anger over the hostages’ captivity.
—Associated Press, TIME, 22 Feb. 2025
The bill creates a toothless licensing regime with far less oversight than banks and allows shaky reserves as collateral.
—Mark Hays, Baltimore Sun, 12 May 2025
Of late, there have been some signs that Trump is willing to increase the pressure on Putin, even if in a rather toothless nature.
—Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 7 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for toothless
Cite this Entry
“Toothless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toothless. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
toothless
adjective
tooth·less
ˈtüth-ləs 
: having no teeth
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share