Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
adjective
- lacking teeth.
- without a serrated edge, as a saw.
- lacking in force or sharpness; dull; ineffectual: a toothless argument.
late 14c., in literal sense, from tooth + -less. Figurative sense of “dull” is recorded from 1590s; that of “lacking enforcement powers” is first recorded 1961. Related: Toothlessly; toothlessness.